System Restore
by Carth
Summary: Based on what you've learned, you may think you've been rid of a monster. But what have you left in his place? Put more simply: What if Hanamura had succeeded in killing Komaeda instead of Togami? [SDR2 Alternate Scenario]
1. Chapter One, Part One

Hello, everyone! So I really love alternate scenario fics and think there should be more of them and also I can't find any Twogami stories, so I'm going to knock out two birds with one stone and take things into my own hands. I'll give it my all and I hope you like it.

Can't really guess how long this'll be, but not terribly long. Oh and SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF SDR2, or at least what's been translated. And for readers of GITM, this won't interfere with my update speed.

At certain points I'll be using lines taken from translations of the game, though I'll avoid that once the timeline diverges. All credit for those lines goes to Kazutaka Kodaka for writing them and Orenronen, Fedule, Kuzuhiko, and Birdmanronpa for translating them. I'd also like to thank zkmn for Twogami's Dangan Island ending and picopicoyama for his last three Free Times. I don't think I'll be using lines from them but they were indispensable in understanding him as a character.

* * *

**System Restore  
**a Super Dangan Ronpa 2 fanfic  
by Carth

* * *

**Chapter One, Part One**

Nothing about this party felt right.

Sure, most of the people that Hinata could see around him looked like they were having fun. Owari, true to her word, had gone right for the food and was practically crying with joy as she ate it. Hanamura had taken the opportunity to boast, while Sonia and Souda laughed and laughed at them both. Koizumi was standing at the head of that table, taking photo after photo, perfectly in her element.

But a part of him couldn't forget what he couldn't see. He couldn't see outside, for one, because the windows had all been bolted shut with steel plates. He couldn't see Nanami and Pekoyama, because Togami had assigned them to watch over the lodge entrance and the "dangerous item"-filled duralumin case, respectively. He couldn't see Kuzuryuu, because he'd refused to come. And he couldn't see Monobear, and when he couldn't see Monobear it was so easy, too easy, to forget that they were all trapped on the island, with the murder of a classmate as the only way out.

And yet…he didn't think he minded it so much, the forgetting. It didn't entirely feel real, anyway. As he was filling his glass with lemonade Koizumi came over with her camera in hand. Ibuki threw up a peace sign, and Hinata laughed to himself as the flash went off. It was such a normal moment… and in that moment he felt more united with these strangers than ever.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself, Hinata-kun," said a voice from just behind his ear. "Even if nothing much has happened yet."

So that's where he'd been hiding all evening. He turned to face (could he call Komaeda his friend? He wasn't sure how loosely he could use the word) his friend, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "The way I see it, not much more needs to happen," he said. "Don't you want anything?"

Komaeda shook his head. "Oh, no, I'm good, thank you."

"Are you sure?" Hinata held his glass in Komaeda's direction. "There might not be much left soon." He looked back over at Owari, who was on her second plate, and also shot a glance at Togami, though he hadn't moved from his position next to the duralumin case, far from the food.

"But won't there be more tomorrow, and the next day too?" Komaeda lifted himself off the wall in one fluid motion and walked over to where Hinata stood. "We have a Super High School Level Chef with us, don't we? The possibilities are endless."

"Well, yes." Hinata set his glass down. "But you put so much effort into decorating, so I thought-"

A loud, masculine grunt cut him off. He turned his head to see Nidai walking away from the table, his fists clenched. He didn't look very well, or so Hinata thought. "Hm? Nidai?" he said. "What's wrong?"

Nidai didn't seem to hear him. He clutched his stomach, came to a stop in front of Togami, and announced he was going back to the hotel. Togami refused to let him go, leading Nidai to yell at the top of his lungs that the lodge toilet was occupied and he was about to shit himself. "You have to go to the toilet?!" Hinata said in disbelief – all this big deal just for that? - but once again neither party heard him.

Then Gundam started shouting something about a lost earring, and Togami had to divide himself between yelling at him and yelling at Nidai. It was quite a sight – Saionji and Mioda were laughing themselves hoarse. He wanted to laugh himself, but the expression he saw on Togami's face – not simply annoyed, but frustrated, even angry – didn't strike him as particularly funny.

He'd tried to forget about it, but Togami had been acting oddly ever since the night began. And it wasn't just his draconian security measures, either – it was the mystery he'd set over why such security was necessary.

("SHIT! MY SHIT IS COMING OUT!" "Shut up and hold it!")

Earlier, when he'd pulled Hinata away to help him confiscate every sharp object he could find in the kitchen, he'd told him that he'd developed his caution after some non-specific past experiences made it necessary. "There were people I couldn't trust, and people who couldn't trust me," he'd said. "My life was like a nightmare…it is only natural my personality would be affected."

("Heeeey, ish it really okay if I ee' erryfing?" "D...Don't be ridiculous! At least set something aside for me!")

Hinata didn't want to doubt that he'd been through what he'd said, but he couldn't really picture what kind of hardship a Super High School Level Heir could be referring to. He'd heard time and time again that money couldn't buy you happiness, but really? A nightmare? From what Komaeda had told him, Togami had lived quite the charmed life. But still, from what he'd seen of his behavior…

("Hey, Togami! Everyone! I'm taking another picture!")

"You look worried," Komaeda said suddenly.

"Eh?" Hinata turned to face him. "No, I mean, worried isn't the right word."

"You don't have to say what it is or anything." Komaeda held his hands up. "I was just pointing it out."

"It's not a big deal." ("For heaven's sake, can't you all act a little more responsibly?") "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Then I hope it is." Komaeda laughed softly. "Of course, we'll just have to wait and see."

Hinata wanted to ask what Komaeda meant, but before he could, a loud beeping noise interrupted him. ("Hm? What was that sound just now-")

* * *

During the minute and a half that the lodge lights were out, it can be understood that this is what happened.

Togami dove to his left, opened the duralumin case, slid the night-vision goggles over his head, and looked around the room. For a second he only saw partygoers stumbling and shouting. ("Uwah, the power's out!" "The hell happened? I can't see nothing!" "I…it's too dark! Everything's too dark!") None seemed to be in danger, nor did they appear to be moving with any immediate purpose –

But then he saw him. He was walking toward the empty end table, following along the cord of the lamp. Of course. He should've known. He launched himself off the floor in the direction of the tables, and went along fine for about three steps before his foot caught on a snag in the carpet and he fell headlong into one of the tables.

There was a crash of breaking plates, and the whole lodge seemed to shake. There were more shouts and yells than there were before – "Huh? What was that?" "Did something explode?" "No, it sounds like a table collapsed! Is everyone alright?"

Hinata grabbed the edge of a table to keep himself from falling. Because of the metal plates over the windows the darkness was absolute; he couldn't tell if someone had just stepped into a table, or if…no, he wasn't going to think about that. He was going to keep calm and stay still. There wasn't anything he could do right now.

Togami's goggles had flown off his face during the impact, but he quickly found and put them on again. The table had overturned, and he, Tsumiki, and the floor were covered in food (what a waste, he thought, what an utterly tragic waste). Tsumiki didn't appear to be getting up, but she also didn't appear to be dead or about to kill anyone, so he'd deal with her later. He stood, slipped, found his footing again, and looked up over the table.

Komaeda couldn't have planned everything. He couldn't see anyone, didn't know what was in the duralumin case, didn't know what Hanamura had planned, if anything at all, and especially didn't know if, perhaps struck with his same mad desire for hope, any other student might have planned something even larger and grander. Wouldn't that be a surprise – but no, he thought as he approached the table, not really. His own pathetic plan would surely pale in comparison to anything Hanamura or any of his other exalted classmates could do.

So when the table collapsed and he heard a soft "Yipe!" from under the floorboards, he smiled a small smile to himself. This much, he knew, he could count on.

After a wink, smile, and wave to whoever might be watching (and he hoped, more than he felt was his share for the last moments of his life, thatsomeone was watching), he lifted the cloth, slid under the table, and took the knife out from under its glowing tape.

* * *

"Hey, everyone! Where are you? T...This power outage... it isn't just in the kitchen?"

"Could someone perhaps have flipped the circuit breakers?"

"W...Wait here! I'll use the walls as a guide and-"

"KOMAEDA!"

The lights flickered back on with a loud ka-chack!. Hinata squinted against the sudden brightness, and lifted his hand to his forehead to cut the glare.

One of the food tables had indeed collapsed, and its contents had fallen all over the floor and also everyone nearby. Tsumiki was lying spread-eagled at the foot of the table, crying loudly. Souda was near the door, kicking at the wall, and Owari had half a chicken leg sticking out of her mouth and looked about as confused as he did.

The others, all spattered to varying degrees with Hanamura's cooking, were running in Hinata's direction. They were all yelling different things, mostly variations of "What's going on?" or "Where's Komaeda-san?" or "Togami, what are you wearing?"

He spun around, and Togami ran past him as he did. His suit was soaked in food grease, and he was wearing the most bizarre headgear Hinata had ever seen in his life. Hinata almost asked him what was going on, but if he wasn't listening to any of the others he knew he wouldn't listen to him.

He stopped at the empty table just behind Hinata, which had nothing on it but a lamp, and grabbed the edge of the tablecloth. "I know you're under there," he growled. "There's no use-"

He pulled the cloth away, sending the lamp crashing to the ground – and then all Hinata could see was blood. Blood on the tablecloth as it flew by his face, blood soaking into the floorboards and dripping through the gaps…and blood creeping through the back of Nagito Komaeda's jacket as he lay face-down and motionless under the table, right next to a bloodstained knife.

* * *

Hinata was the first to scream, and he screamed long and loud.

He didn't want to look, didn't want to believe it, but at the same time he couldn't look away. It was impossible – completely impossible – it was a bad dream – but he wasn't waking up – Komaeda – his friend was – Komaeda – someone had…!

The anger in his chest was clouding his brain - he was only dimly aware of everything else going on around him. Sonia burst into tears, Koizumi screamed and clutched at her face, Gundam howled, Nidai roared, and Ibuki foamed at the mouth and swooned. Souda and Hanamura ran over from the door, yelling over each other, Tsumiki stood up from the floor, her indignance giving way to a loud wail of shock, and Owari ran from the opposite direction, looking more determined than anything. "I knew it," she yelled as she approached. "I knew I smelled blood!"

Togami was the only one that didn't make any noise. He removed the goggles with his free hand and set both them and the tablecloth on the ground. His expression, now that Hinata could see it, was far from sad or angry – it looked blank, almost hollow. He knelt to the floor, reached under the table, pressed two fingers against Komaeda's neck, and waited. After a second, he lifted them and pressed them down again, harder this time.

"How…?" he said to himself as he did this. "Why…how…?"

"Upupupu, what's this? Do you really think he might be alive, Togami-kun?"

Hinata stumbled backward and yelped – against all reason, Monobear had appeared right at his feet. He ignored Hinata and walked right over to the table, next to Togami. "I mean, usually the giant stab wounds would convince most people," he said. "But you're just hoping for a miracle, aren't you?"

Togami set Komaeda down, then turned to face Monobear. "You're not supposed to be here," he said in a voice that was almost a monotone. "Nanami and Monomi are supposed to be keeping you out-"

"Silly, silly Togami-kun. Bears don't need front doors to enter buildings. They come and go when and where they please!" Monobear laughed, long and loud. "But let's not waste any more time." He motioned up at the nearby screen, which began playing a pre-recorded announcement that a body had been discovered. "You have a trial to prepare for, after all!"

There was a whirlwind of activity following his words. Shouts of anguish intermixed with vocal denials that anything like this could happen. Pekoyama, Nanami, and Monomi arrived in the middle of all this – spurred by the announcement, no doubt – and added their own voices of shock to the mix. Monomi begged them not to listen to Monobear, but even if Monobear hadn't punched her in the face Hinata wasn't sure anyone would have listened. Monobear vanished soon after, leaving everyone to talk over each other in confusion.

"I-Investigation?!" Koizumi was still digging into her cheeks with her fingernails. "I don't understand…why?"

"Even if one of us did kill him..." Sonia shivered. "How could I possibly accept sending another one of us to their deaths?"

"Yeah! How can Monobear force us to do this, anyway?!" Souda was yelling over everyone, but his eyes were on Sonia. "How do we not have another choice?"

Most everyone else was going on in the same vein, but for a few. Nidai had run off somewhere. Saionji was silent, but trembled with anger. Togami still knelt by the body, his face invisible to the rest. Hinata found himself as a loss for words. He wanted to deny the situation, just like everyone else, he didn't WANT to treat Komaeda's death this way, but –

"What…do you think you're doing?"

Togami stood as he spoke, and then turned to face the others. His expression was similar to his usual haughty condescension, but there was a noticeable tension in his voice and in his bearing. "Do you really think that denying this situation is going to fix anything?"

His words cut some of the noise, but most everyone still looked scared and confused. "B-but…" Hanamura trembled, and rubbed his hands together. "There's no way anyone could have… I-It's just a dream, or an illusion…or…"

"You don't, do you?" Togami went on as if Hanamura had not spoken. "You only want to. We all do. But ignoring the truth solves nothing." He clenched a fist. "Komaeda is dead. One of us killed him. If we don't find his killer, the rest of us will be in danger as well. Therefore, finding his killer is our first priority. If you feel the need to grieve, you'll have to do it later."

Tsumiki burst into tears, and most everyone else, Hinata included, looked as though they felt quite uncomfortable – apart from Mioda, who let out a loud whoop and clapped enthusiastically. Pekoyama was the only one that spoke up directly. "That was a bit harsh, don't you think, Togami?"

"Of course I think it's harsh. But it's what has to be done. Haven't I said that already?"

"B-but…" Monomi shivered, and held her head in her hands. Hinata hadn't noticed that she was still there until she spoke. "You really shouldn't suspect each other…how can you suspect your friends…?"

"Are you trying to get us all killed? We can't think like that anymore." Togami pointed forward. "There will be no more of this. We must hurry and gather all the information we can."

"But-but-" Hanamura continued stammering, and Monomi was fretting as usual, but Togami's words were having an effect on most everyone else, Hinata included. As painful as it was, they were, at the moment, locked under Monobear's power. They had to continue playing under his rules until they found a way to twist them.

For a moment he thought of saying something, of expressing his support despite his shock, but Saionji took his words from him. "I actually think Mr. Porkfeet's the only one in here making any sense," she piped in.

"Well, thank you." Togami looked rather surprised. "But-"

"But if we are going to investigate – he's also pretty suspicious, don't you think?"

Everyone in the room looked at Saionji, then over at Togami, whose expression was unreadable. "Go on?" he said.

"If anyone here actually had any brains they'd be yelling all the weird things you've been doing," Saionji said. "You set up this party and forced us all into one place. Then you frisked us like some kind of pervert, so it's not like any of us have any weapons except you. And then the power goes out, and you just happen to have a pair of night-vision goggles?"

The room erupted with talk – "That is pretty suspicious, isn't it?" "How did she know those were night-vision goggles? Are they really?" "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he did it!" "Aha! Such dark secrets are about to be exposed!" For a split second Hinata believed Saionji – the knife lying by Komaeda's body did look somewhat like the ones he'd seen with Togami in the kitchen. But if it was true… if it had all been a long con…his imagination was poised and ready, but something in the back of his mind told him not to jump to conclusions without solid evidence.

Togami's face flushed with anger as he looked down at the crowd around him. "No, that isn't – how could you think – this is utterly ridiculous –"

He paused and took a deep breath. "No, no, that won't do. In this situation, I do look suspicious to you. You probably don't understand my actions. And right now, I can't explain them completely. But everything I did, I did to keep this party safe."

He turned to Saionji. "Everything I confiscated is locked in the lodge office. The key is still in the duralumin case where I left it. I didn't know that the power would go out. I didn't know what would happen. If you look in the case, you'll see that I was prepared for any non-lethal confrontation. I have no need to defend myself any further."

Saionji grunted. She didn't look particularly convinced, and neither did anyone else. Hinata had a flash of inspiration. "I don't think you killed Komaeda," he said. "If you had, wouldn't you be covered in blood, just like him?"

"Yeah, he's right!" Mioda piped in. "And killing in a white suit goes against all logic! You'd have to wear black or red, right?"

"Ah…excellent points, both of you. And now that we don't have a one-track mind anymore about who the killer might be, I suggest we-"

"Ah, before that, I have a question," Nanami said. "If you had those night-vision goggles, Togami-kun, wouldn't that mean that you saw what was going on when it was dark?"

"W-what kind of a question is that?" Hanamura shouted. "He could say anything! How can we trust him?"

"Simple," Togami said. "You can't. But to answer you, Nanami, yes, I could see what was going on. And I suppose I should say that the table collapse had nothing to do with the murder." He paused. "That was me. I tripped on the carpet and fell into the table."

Nidai snorted with laughter – Hinata hadn't realized that he'd returned – and Souda, Saionji, and Ibuki covered their faces before they could make any sound. Togami ignored it all. "But nothing I saw would lead, one way or another, to the identity of Komaeda's killer," he went on. "And even if it did… well, I think I would keep that to myself until the trial. We can't give the killer a chance to defend themselves by telling them things that might implicate them. So I think you should all be careful not to reveal too much to each other in your investigations. Also, someone should keep watch over the body. I don't want it tampered with."

"I-I'll do it…" Koizumi held her hand to her heart. "I'm no good in investigations, and if I can do something to help…"

" you'll do well, Koizumi." Togami pointed towards the door. "Now, let us begin!"

"First the Devildog Earring, now damning evidence…" Gundam struck a pose. "I shall seek both with equal fervor!"

He was the first to dash out of the room, laughing all the way. Everyone else filed out somewhat more slowly, and Hinata followed them, leaving only Koizumi and Togami behind.

* * *

**The victim's body was discovered at the main hall of Hotel Mirai's old lodge.**

**The time of death was around 11:30 PM.**

**The cause of death was stabbing with a sharp object. The victim was stabbed multiple times in the region between the abdomen and the throat…**

Hinata had read the text countless times, and each read just made his lack of insight more depressing. Instead he looked at the silhouette of Komaeda, which highlighted his wounds in pink, and studied it as he walked.

He'd looked just about everywhere else he could think. He'd found a bloody sheet and several irons plugged in in the storage closet, a set of fire doors just outside the hall, and Nanami and Gundam rooting around outside, looking for some way to get under the lodge to get Gundam's earring (because, Hinata thought, that really is top priority right now). He'd talked to everyone he could find, as well. Nidai had boasted about how he'd finally made it to the bathroom, and Nanami had told him that, while Kuzuryuu had come by during the party, she hadn't seen him since the body discovery announcement. But he hadn't learned much else he didn't already know.

The body itself hadn't revealed much new, but he did see a strip of duct tape on the top of the table painted glowing green, and the same glowing green paint on the knife. He guessed that this would have helped the culprit see the hidden weapon in the dark – but then Tsumiki informed him that Komaeda had been stabbed with a long, thin blade, too thin to have been the knife, and that he had more wounds on his stomach than on his back.

He didn't know what to make of it at the time, but he was beginning to make a connection with something Togami had said – that he couldn't identify Komaeda's killer. If there were more wounds on his stomach, there was every chance that, despite all reason, he had been stabbed from below. This made sense with the bloody sheet and the gaps in the floor - but how could the killer have gotten down below to stab him? How did they know when, in the darkness? And for that matter, no matter how they'd done it, who WAS the killer? He had absolutely no idea. And the knife…where had the knife come into play?

He'd reached the office, the one room in the lodge he hadn't searched yet. He could hear muffled voices coming from inside. A good sign, he thought; that might mean that something inside was stirring up conversation. He turned the knob, opened the door –

"You weren't here? How could you not have been here?"

And swung it back again, leaving it open only a crack. He could see a tiny sliver of the room, and in that sliver he saw Togami and Pekoyama standing under what looked like a large lever, set high into the wall. Togami had his back to him, but Pekoyama looked quite distressed. "It was out of my control, Togami," she said. "I didn't intend to leave the room unguarded."

"But you could've come and told someone you were leaving. They could have taken over for you. Why didn't you?"

"I didn't have time. I don't know why I have to explain myself to you." Pekoyama gritted her teeth.

"All of our lives are on the line, Pekoyama. If the culprit managed to get in here under your watch-"

"I told you it was out of my control!" Pekoyama's eyes flashed – then flicked to the door. Hinata didn't feel like being discovered eavesdropping, especially not by a Super High School Level Swordswoman, so he threw the door open.

"Oh, I, uh, didn't know you guys were in here," he said entirely too loudly.

"Hinata?" Pekoyama looked legitimately surprised to see him, thankfully.

"Have you found anything?" Togami turned to face him, his arms folded across his stomach.

"Nothing new, no." Hinata grinned. "How about you guys?"

"Monobear came in a few moments ago." Pekoyama folded her arms as well. "He was the one who turned the power back on, or so he says."

"But we still don't know who turned it off." Togami pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Pekoyama was…not here at the time of the blackout."

"Togami, as I attempted to tell you, I don't see any signs that anyone tried to reach the circuit breakers-" Pekoyama stopped suddenly, grimaced, and clutched her stomach. "I…uh… I have to…"

Togami nodded, and Pekoyama dashed out of the room. They stood in awkward silence until they were sure she was out of earshot, and then Hinata turned to Togami. "Is she okay?" he asked.

"It would appear not." Togami looked back up at the circuit breaker, and Hinata followed his gaze.

Right next to the switch was an air conditioner, turned up all the way. He shivered – and then realized something. "I found a bunch of irons plugged in in the storage closet," he said. "That, combined with the air conditioners coming on…"

"Would be enough to cause a blackout." Togami put his hand to his chin. "That must have been the noise we heard. I thought you said you had nothing new to share."

"It wasn't really something I saw," Hinata admitted. "I figured it out when I saw the air conditioner in here."

"Very well. One of us should inform Pekoyama, the next time we see her." Togami paused. "I shouldn't have been so rough on her. But I wonder if there's even anything I can do, now…"

"I'm sure there is," Hinata said, but Togami didn't respond – Hinata had the sneaking suspicion he had been talking to himself, not to him.

Eventually, Togami turned to face him again. "Do you need anything else?"

Yeah, he thought, some real answers. "Togami," he said, "Are you hiding something?"

Togami was silent for a long time. "I will tell you everything at the trial," he said. "It's not anything particularly vital for your investigation."

That didn't make any sense to Hinata, but it was clear Togami wasn't going to back down from his position. He had turned away again; something about him seemed distant, or distracted. "I…should get back to work," he said awkwardly.

"I will tell you one thing, Hinata," Togami said suddenly. "I did not see anyone else get under the table, nor did I see anyone leave it."

Hinata had already figured this out – Komaeda had been stabbed from below, after all. "Well, yes," he said. "But in that case…why was he under the table at all? Did someone chase him under?"

"Hinata…" Togami's expression did not change. "Komaeda was your friend, wasn't he?"

"Well…" Hinata thumbed the Monobear File in his hands. "We only knew each other for three days, but I'd say he was-"

The screen in the room lit up and began playing a message – it was time for the trial. "Well, that's that, then," Togami said. "Go ahead of me, Hinata. I have some matters to attend to."

Matters? Hinata was suspicious, but he didn't press the matter - he nodded and left the room instead. He encountered Sonia and Gundam in the hallway and walked with them out of the lodge. He tried to keep calm and lose himself in the conversation – Gundam had found his earring, it seemed, and Sonia was eating up his story of how he'd battled a Pomeranian to get it. Neither of them were talking about the murder. He didn't even know if either of them might know who the killer was.

When they got to the designated spot, everyone was there, apart from Togami. Even Kuzuryuu was there, standing apart from the group with his arms folded; Hinata attempted to ask him why he hadn't joined the investigation, and was told to fuck off in response. All things told Hinata didn't really suspect him, though he could tell that some, like Saionji and Souda, were giving him the stinkeye. He wondered if any one of them looked more nervous than the other. Or what Komaeda's murderer was thinking. Or what Komaeda would think, were he alive…

Soon Togami showed up, excusing his lateness. He told Peko what Hinata had told him about the power overload, then asked Kuzuryuu the same question Hinata had and got the same response. Soon enough Monobear and Monomi showed up – the former gleeful, the latter weeping. Monobear produced an escalator from a nearby mountain – somehow – which they all used to enter an elevator, which creaked and shuddered as it fell down, down, down into the mountain.

No one said a word. Hinata could see a few signs of grief from some – Ibuki's moans, Akane's stern expression, Sonia's wistful frown – but others, particularly Togami, were still unreadable. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why Togami would ask whether Komaeda had been his friend. He didn't want to think about what it might mean at all.

* * *

They arrived at the trial room and were directed to their places by Monobear. Each of them had one, even a framed portrait of Komaeda with a pink X through it directly in front of where Hinata stood. Monobear sat in a chair next to a tied-up Monomi. He ran through an explanation of the trial – nothing they didn't already know. He had just barely stopped speaking when Togami pounced. "I believe I should start," he said.

"Well, well! Someone's an eager beaver!" Monobear kicked his legs up and down in his seat. "Is what you have to say really that important? Or do you just love the sound of your own voice that much?"

"I did say I would start. Not you. Stop speaking." Togami cleared his throat. "Earlier tonight I said that, while I was able to see what was going on in the main hall during the blackout, I was not able to discover the identity of Komaeda's killer. That is true."

"But he was killed literally right in front of you!" Souda said.

"I know. We'll get to that. While I do not know who killed Komaeda, that does not mean that I did not discover something important about this murder."

"What…what does that mean?" Tsumiki stammered.

"I considered telling you then and there, and the less simpleminded among you may have figured it out," Togami went on. "But at the time I believed it would distract from the case at hand. I did not believe it to be relevant to finding the culprit, but whether it is or not, I believe you all have the right to know."

"Then why are you still stalling?" Kuzuryuu folded his arms. "Spit it out already!"

"Alright." Togami's voice was suddenly heavy with an emotion Hinata couldn't place. "Based on his actions during the blackout, I believe…" He hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "I believe Komaeda was attempting murder at the time he was killed."

* * *

Not really a cliffhanger, but there's still more to come! See you then!

- Carth


	2. Chapter One, Part Two

Hello everyone! I don't think I'll update this quickly ever again – this was already half done when I posted Chapter 1, and I have a bit of a busy schedule at college, but I'll aim for one every two weeks.

Also! While this story does shift the focus to a small set of characters, the others are definitely around doin' stuff and I don't want to forget about any or reduce them to caricatures. If you spot me doing something I shouldn't be, or vice versa, be sure to let me know! And now, enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter One, Part Two**

There was no reason he shouldn't have figured it out, was the first thing Hinata could think.

Everyone around him was screaming and shouting their rage and disbelief, but he felt no need. He couldn't feel anything. Not grief, not sadness, not anger. The pieces were coming together in his mind and there was no way to stop them. The knife. The glowing paint. The blackout setup. The fact that the murderer knew when and where to strike.

"But how can that be? He was never anything but kind to anyone!" Sonia's voice felt as though it were a million miles away. He didn't want to see it. He hadn't wanted to see it. But then he started thinking of things that weren't evidence. Komaeda's calmness, Komaeda's incredible self-assurance, Komaeda asking him whether he was worried…

Nidai punched the railing of his stand, bringing Hinata back to reality. "I will not believe this until I know the full truth!" he shouted. "Explain yourself, Togami!"

"He…" Togami looked directly at Nidai, shook his head, and faced forward again. His expression was neutral, but Hinata could swear his hands were shaking. "When I put the night-vision goggles on, I saw Komaeda following the lamp cord to the table. I attempted to go after him, but by the time I arrived at the table, he had already been killed. The knife found near Komaeda's body –"

"Must have been the murder weapon!" Mioda yelled.

"N-no…" Tsumiki said. "He was stabbed with a very thin object …"

"Precisely, Tsumiki. It was not Komaeda's murder weapon." Togami did not meet Tsumiki's eyes as he spoke. "It was also covered in glowing green paint, as was a piece of tape found on the bottom of the table. Based on this and other factors, I believe that Komaeda placed the knife there while he was cleaning the lodge."

"Other factors?" Koizumi said. "That's awfully vague."

"I'm not withholding anything. I'm just not going to deprive a detective of his credit." Togami turned to look at him. "Hinata, you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"I…" It was right on the tip of his tongue, but Hinata's mouth felt like lead. There were so many things to say, but so little motivation, now, to say them.

"Would you prefer if I said it, Hinata?" Togami folded his arms. "You look distressed."

"No, no…" Hinata shook his head rapidly, and gritted his teeth. "It was…the air conditioners and the irons, wasn't it? He triggered the blackout."

There were more gasps of shock. "He must've rigged the chopstick thing, too!" Akane said.

"I knew something was suspicious about that." Pekoyama's eyes narrowed. "But the way he strung us along…how could anyone suspect him?"

"But if that's the case, then where IS the murder weapon?" Saionji said. "We could talk about big bro Komaeda forever and ever, but he didn't kill himself and I don't want to die."

"B-b-but what if he did?" Hanamura gripped his stand and trembled. "With someone so deranged, it's obvious-!"

"But if he'd killed himself, the proper instrument would be there, wouldn't it?" Gundam said.

"That is true. But I should also mention, though you may choose whether or not to believe me, that I did not see anyone enter or exit the table but Komaeda."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Kuzuryuu said.

"The floor. The floorboards. Someone could've gone under," Hinata said. "That's how."

"But who? And when?" Togami said. "Do you have any idea, Hinata?"

"I…" Hinata tried to remember everyone he could see in the room after the blackout, everything that could possibly be evidence. Nothing was coming. He'd run out of conclusions. "No. I don't know."

"All the other evidence they left behind, and you don't know?"

"I really can't remember very clearly, Togami."

"Are you thinking about Komaeda?" Togami narrowed his eyes. "Don't you remember what I said about letting grief get in the way-"

"Togami-kun, I'm going to stop you right there." Nanami's voice was soft, but it still seemed to bring the room to a halt. "There are fifteen of us here. There's no need to drop all the responsibility on Hinata-kun."

"That's not what I was doing." Togami looked away.

"Still, it is what it looks like. I don't think there's any need to bring up Komaeda-kun right now, except as needed." She turned to face Gundam. "Tanaka-kun, how did you find your earring again?"

* * *

Compared to the hullaballoo around Komaeda, their actual task – finding his killer – was more straightforward than it had seemed. Gundam's earring – "You mean the Devildog Earring?" Gundam had insisted twice – had been found via a secret passageway in the storage room. This led to several more revelations – namely confirmation that the killer must have known about Komaeda's plot in order to move during the blackout.

The discussion loosened Hinata up slightly – he soon concluded that, in order to find the trapdoor, the killer must have needed a light source. This led Togami to recall the portable stove he'd found in the kitchen – which, faster than anything, led suspicion to fall on Hanamura.

He wasn't sure what was ghastlier – what he'd learned about Komaeda before, or what he, in those next few moments, learned about Hanamura. He got more and more frantic, and his speech more and more unintelligible, with every offense mounted against him. The murder weapon itself was the subject of much debate – but in a flash of inspiration, Hinata brought up the missing skewer.

When he did, a change seemed to come over Togami's face. His eyes widened, and his mouth hardened to a thin line. "Hanamura," he said, his voice heavy. "You told Hinata and I that the fifth skewer was missing. Where was it?"

"TH'NOFIFSCKR!" Hanamura shouted. ("There's no fifth skewer," Monomi said.)

"There was a fifth skewer and you know it." He thumped his hand down in front of him. "I searched every inch of that kitchen. Where could it possibly have been?"

"NWHR!" ("Nowhere!")

"No, it wasn't. It was…" Hinata tried to remember what he'd seen in the kitchen…and one large object leapt out at him. "It was the meat." He tried to look at Togami, and not at Hanamura. "He hid the skewer in the meat on a bone."

If Togami had been shocked before, it was nothing compared to now. His face seemed to freeze, and he gripped his trial stand with both hands. He hardly moved even as others debated whether this could be done, and didn't even turn to look as the meat was produced and eaten by Monobear. "No," he kept saying over and over, too quietly for anyone to catch onto. "That's not, that's not…"

"I think we've heard all we need to hear!" Monobear waved his paw absently. "Now, please use the switches in front of you to vote! Oh, and I won't have anyone refusing to vote! If you do that, I'll feed you to the Monobeasts!"

In a twisted way, it was an interesting thing to see who voted when. Kuzuryuu, Gundam, Akane, Souda, and Saionji pressed their hands down immediately. Nidai, Pekoyama, Sonia, and Koizumi hesitated for a moment, perhaps while they thought about what they were doing, before hitting the button. Hinata knew he couldn't wait now – he was the next to vote, for Hanamura, of course. Mioda and Tsumiki came after, both looking heartbroken. Hanamura moaned, long and loud, before he too voted – for whom, Hinata could not tell. Once he had, Nanami lowered her head and pressed her own button.

There was a tense pause. Hinata was just wondering why nothing was happening when Monobear leapt up in his seat. "Togami-kun," he singsonged, "What did I just finish saying?"

Togami didn't answer. He continued staring at the switches, his face twitching with anger.

"You may not believe this, but I really don't want to have to kill you, Togami-kun." Monobear slouched back in his seat. "There's no pomp, no circumstance, no point to it at all! You don't really want to throw your life away for something that abstract and immovable, do you?"

When there was still no response, Monobear laughed. "So there we have it! And what will they do without your amazing leadership, I wonder-"

"Enough." Togami slammed his hand hard on the switch. "It's done. You can stop."

* * *

"Upupupupu, I'm very impressed with you! By a unanimous vote, the student who killed Nagito Komaeda is…Teruteru Hanamura!"

Monobear leapt and danced in his chair, and Hanamura shrieked and wailed louder than before, denying his guilt with every breath, but the rest of the courtrooms' occupants looked about as numb as Hinata felt. Mioda fidgeted wildly with her hair. Koizumi bit her lip and held her hand over her eyes. Nidai didn't even attempt to hide that he was weeping, while Tsumiki looked remarkably dry-eyed. Togami was looking down, and his hair had fallen over his face. His nails were digging ridges in his trial stand.

Hinata couldn't take his eyes off Hanamura. He'd never been particularly close to him, but he had never once thought him capable of murder. Why this had happened, he couldn't imagine. He didn't have to wonder for long, however – Nidai asked him, tears still streaming down his face, just why he had done it. So he told them what he'd found Komaeda doing, and what Komaeda had said to him.

_"If not tonight, it'll happen tomorrow. Or the day after. I don't care how long it takes... I will start this mutual killing... no matter what."_

With the urgency of the trial, no one had had any time or desire to consider Komaeda's motive, least of all Hinata. He had figured he just wanted to get off the island, like Monobear had said he could.

_"I love every one of you "Super High-school Level" students. I revere "the symbols of hope"…I don't want you to lose to something like mutual killing…"_

He wasn't prepared for this. He couldn't comprehend it. He could understand desperation, or fear, but the logic entering his brain was beyond his understanding. It was impossible. Komaeda was his friend. Komaeda loved them all…just as he had said.

_"The stronger the despair that stands in its way, the stronger everyone's hope becomes. Isn't that so? I want to make your hope shine... That's all there is to it...The thing I desire is the strongest hope - the hope that can crush all despair!"_

No one was numb anymore. They were terrified. Gundam howled in anguish. Sonia cried out, saying just how horrific this was to hear. They were two of the few; most, like Hinata, were running through memories of Komaeda in their minds, trying to find any sign, any justification for what they were hearing. "Is this real?" Hinata felt himself mouthing. "Is this…really real…?"

_"Is that what you think? You think... I'm a little crazy? But... isn't that what love is all about?"_

"He was…" Hanamura shook with a fresh wave of anguish. "He was a m-monster… a-and I thought…if I could stop him…I…I…could…protect…everyone…"

"Really? _Really?_" Monobear laughed so hard Hinata thought he might fall out of his chair. "What a little liar we've got! That, or just an idiot. Go on, Hanamura-kun. Tell us why you REALLY wanted to kill someone. Anyone."

Togami's head snapped up. Hanamura began to cry harder than ever, but the motive that was coming out through his tears now was somehow…simple, compared to Komaeda's. Lost memories. An ill mother. Nothing more.

Soon Hanamura could no longer speak. He simply stood at his post, crying and crying as everyone looked on, many with tears in their own eyes. Hinata didn't feel any coming. After all that had happened, he didn't know what to feel at all.

"How awful! How awful! Don't you all think so? I see you do!" Monobear was sitting lopsided in his chair, tapping his paw against the banister. "But now that everyone's had their quaint little moments of truth, it's time for-"

"Hanamura."

Everyone turned to look at Togami, and as they watched he released his grip on the trial stand, stood up straight, and pushed his hair out of his face. His expression was unlike any other in the room, as it looked neither fearful nor upset. Hinata might have called it determined, but for an unusual hollowness in his eyes.

"Yes, yes," Monobear said, waving his paw, "it's time for Hanamura to-"

"Hanamura…" Togami turned to face him as he spoke. "If I have any time before that _bear _keeps talking, there are a few things I need you to clear up for me."

"Hey! That's Monobear to you!" Monobear raised a shaking fist. Hanamura looked at Togami, then at Monobear, then back at Togami. His wails had stopped, though tears still slid down his face. He nodded vigorously, and Togami returned the nod in acknowledgement.

"Thank you," he said. "Your murder…you chose Komaeda above any of us to kill because of his behavior, correct?"

Hanamura rubbed his hands together nervously. "Ha…hoawawa..."

"A simple yes or no will do, Hanamura."

"Yes, no, I mean, yes!" Hanamura looked down at his hands, as if in awe that they were still moving, that he was still living.

"And by extension, you decided to kill because of Monobear's motive, didn't you?"

"I…I…" Hanamura looked over at Monobear, who was tapping his paw ever faster. "I don't r-r-really understand w-what you're doing, here…"

"Yeah, neither do I," Kuzuryuu piped in. "What do you think you're trying to pull?"

"It looks like he's stalling," Souda said.

Togami shot a quick look at them both, then turned back. "If you answer any of my questions, answer this one, Hanamura. Without Monobear's input, or even without Komaeda's, do you think your concerns for your mother would have affected you to the point you would kill for them?"

"Th…" Hanamura was now rapidly slamming his fist into his palm. "Th-that's an unfair question…it d-didn't happen that way at all, did it…?"

"Then let me try again," Togami said. "If anything had stopped you, any hitch in the plan…perhaps the discovery of your weapon, or the assurance that there were other routes of escape, other ways to find out what had happened…" Much to Hinata's surprise, his voice had grown thick with emotion. "Do you think you would have attempted the murder again? Ever?"

"Other ways…" Hanamura's hand stopped. "B-but…what? What was I supposed to do? Huh?! It would've taken…t-too m-much time!" Despite his words, Hinata could see that something had changed in Hanamura's expression. Was it regret? He wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't.

"I see…that was all I needed to hear. Thank you." Togami looked askance for a short period of time, enforcing an uncomfortable silence.

"Your cooking was excellent," he finally said. "Truly worthy of your title. I'm going to miss it, I fear. But I hope, for the sake of everyone else, that you continue to improve."

"Continue to improve…?" Hinata wondered aloud. "What are you talking about-"

Before Hinata could finish his sentence, Togami turned again, this time to face Monobear and Monomi, and folded his arms. "Monobear, there is no need to execute Hanamura. I volunteer myself to go in his place."

For a second, you could hear a pin drop in the courtroom. Then, all at once, everyone exploded.

"Volunteer?" Owari slammed her fist on the trial stand. "What? What the _hell?!_"

"The darkness of the soul…required to even fathom such a thing…!" Gundam's face distorted with shock.

"Nononononononononono…" Ibuki clawed at her face, her eyes wide with terror. "Nononononononono…."

"Wha…wha…" Hanamura shook more than ever. A wild grin was fighting its way his face, but he held it back with a shout. _"WHAYE THINK YE'DOIN?!"_

"Exactly what I said," Togami said, folding his arms. "I trust I don't need to repeat myself, Monobear?"

"Hm…volunteer, huh…" Monobear made a show of tapping his paw against his chin, then lifted that paw high in the air. "Okay!" he said cheerfully.

Everyone's shouts doubled in volume, apart from Hanamura, who made a soft, keening noise and shook violently. Hinata felt so numb, so out of touch with whatever he might be feeling, that everyone else's emotions became crystal clear to him. Sadness, fear, anger, confusion…they were there, but he didn't know which ones to assign to whom, apart from himself.

"But you didn't do anything!" he shouted. "It's like you said, isn't it? Monobear and, and Komaeda- they're the ones responsible!"

"Togami-kun, you're not under any obligation to do this," Monomi said, looking down on him with concern. "Pwease reconsider…"

"None of the rest of us feel the need to sacrifice ourselves." Pekoyama was clearly trying to sound stern, but her face betrayed her horror. "Do you even _understand-?"_

"Of course he doesn't!" Kuzuryuu shouted with such force that Hinata could see a tiny vein throbbing in his forehead. "He thinks he's better than us. That's what this is about, isn't it?!"

"What I think is a matter between me and myself, and I've considered as much as I need." Togami turned away from them all, and began kneading his temples. "Monobear, can we begin soon?"

"Sure thing, Togami-kun! Just step on over here and I'll- GNAHH!" Monobear leapt forward, baring his claws at Togami. "Did you really think I was going to let you do something so STUPID?"

The silence fell again. Everyone's eyes were on Togami. He had flinched slightly at the claws, but now stood motionless as Monobear jumped up and down in his seat. "The rules are very clear – only the culprit gets executed!" he shouted. "No one else! No heroic sacrifices or last minute martyrs or anything! None! No negotiations! NOTHING!"

He sat back in his seat in a huff. Hinata could hear someone hyperventilating to his left, and knew immediately that it was Hanamura, but he couldn't look away. Slowly, Togami turned to face the rest. His expression surprised Hinata – he looked sad, defeated. He took a deep breath, and lowered his head. "I suppose it was worth a shot," he said softly.

"Worth a shot…?" Koizumi shook with anger. "Is that all you can say?"

"Yes, Koizumi, yes it is." Togami turned to look at Hanamura again. "I'm…sorry."

"Y…you…" Hanamura had gone very, very quiet. He sniffled many times before he could continue. "You…"

"This could have been avoided." Togami's voice was quieter than before, and he turned to look at the floor, rather than at Hanamura, as he spoke. "If you had come to me, I would have been willing to listen to your concerns. I would have assured you that, in due time, we would work together to find a way to restore your memories and find information about your mother. For you, and for everyone here right now who is afraid about anything at all, I would have doubled and redoubled my efforts-"

"Ugh! Why do you keep assaulting my ears with all these speeches speeches speeches speeches!" Monobear threw his hands in the air, and waved them with anger. "It's as if you actually think you're an important character or talent or human being! Nope, I'm done, I've decided." Monobear hopped out of his chair. "Done listening to people who think they're in charge. I think it's time I showed you bastards who really _was_."

"No…" Monomi sobbed. "No…no…this isn't right at all…"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, little sister, or your existence at that. When you were born I begged our mother to have some good sense, and sell you rather than raise you, and yet she insisted on raising you! What's the sense in that? But I digress." Monobear grinned. "Teruteru Hanamura, it is now time for your punishment…!"

* * *

"WOOHOO! EXTREME! What an explosive beginning to our island life! Went off without a hitch, I'd say…"

If Monobear said anything else, Hinata blocked it out. Just when he thought things couldn't sink any lower, just when he thought of the actual execution had gotten lost in the trial, it had happened worse than he'd imagined. It was comical. Unrealistic. Cartoonish to the point where he could hardly comprehend that Hanamura had really just been killed.

All around him, emotions ran high. Souda, Sonia, Koizumi, and Tsumiki were in tears, while Akane, Nidai, Gundam, and Kuzuryuu looked about ready to punch Monobear. Pekoyama, Saionji, Mioda, Togami, and Nanami looked neutral, almost hollow. Hinata was sure he fit here, though he could feel the anger boiling in his bones.

Kuzuryuu was the first to strike, demanding their memories back. Monobear gave an answer that amounted to laughing in their faces and vanished, closely followed by Monomi when they posed the same question to her.

Everyone began talking at once, then. Souda was convinced Monobear and Monomi were working together, and was talking loudly and enthusiastically about it to Sonia, who was politely disagreeing. Owari announced that she was going to beat Monobear's ass and was inviting anyone who felt the same to join her; Mioda agreed enthusiastically, while Nidai attempted to talk her down with little success. Hinata ended up contributing smaller pieces to larger conversations – "The design scheme is kind of similar", or "I don't think that's going to work." He did get into a conversation with Tsumiki about how unbelievable it was that Komaeda had done what he had, but it ended up falling apart when she interrupted him to apologize for wasting his time.

Nanami happened to be the next person he spotted. She wasn't participating in any conversations – she was looking outside the circle, where Togami stood, silent but looking on. Hinata hadn't even noticed he wasn't participating, and neither had anyone else – or so it seemed until he saw Koizumi look over at him and make a split second's awkward eye contact before biting her lip and looking away.

When Hinata looked back at Nanami, she had just turned away from Koizumi. As he watched, she walked over to where Sonia stood – still listening to Souda – and stood on tiptoes to whisper something in her ear. Sonia's eyes went wide. "Well, of course," she said softly, "But are you sure we're the right people for it?"

"Huh?" Souda said. "What's this all about?"

Nanami said something Hinata couldn't hear. Souda's eyes went wide, and he grinned awkwardly at them and said something else. Nanami nodded and turned away. "I understand. We'll be right back, Souda-kun."

Nanami and Sonia walked away from the crowd and over to Togami. For a moment Hinata wanted to join them, but a split second's hesitation locked him out of the situation as Nanami approached. "Ah, Togami-kun…" she said, "Are you alright?"

Hinata could swear Togami looked startled, but not for long. His eyes narrowed, and he folded his arms across his stomach. "Why are you asking?"

"We…" Nanami put her finger to her chin, but when she didn't speak again for several seconds, Sonia jumped in. "We were concerned, Togami-san," she said. "You're over here by yourself, after all."

"That's not what I meant," Togami said. "Shouldn't you already know the answer? You're not "alright" either, are you?"

"Well, no. Not at all." Sonia looked to the side. "To have two of our friends die so horribly, and for Komaeda to behave so strangely…but that's another matter. You, in particular…" She bit her lip. "My Japanese isn't very good. I fear saying it wrong…but you always seem rather forward."

_Your Japanese is better than mine half the time, _Hinata thought – but he'd save that nugget for later. He knew exactly what Sonia was trying to say, because it was exactly what had been on his mind. He stepped forward. "I think what she means is, you jumped at the chance to sacrifice yourself. That's not really normal."

Togami jumped slightly. "Hinata…" For a moment Hinata couldn't read his expression – the closest Hinata could interpret was surprised – but then it passed, and his scowl returned. "Hmph," he said. "Is that all?"

"Is that _all?_" Sonia looked quite stern. "Togami-san, your life is-"

"Important? Of course it is." Togami scowled. "My name is Byakuya Togami. By my nature, fiscally and intellectually and cosmically, my life is worth more than most others. Wouldn't it make sense, then, for me to forfeit my life for a noble cause?"

This didn't make a lick of sense to Hinata – it was actually kind of making his head spin – and Sonia was looking quite confused herself. "Whatever you perceive your life to be worth matters as much as a monkey's uncle," she said. "This cannot be sensible in any situation!"

"Any situation? I'm surprised you're reacting this way, Sonia Nevermind." Togami stepped closer to Sonia as he spoke. "As the princess of Novoselic, I would think that you, more than anyone, would understand. Under the right circumstances, wouldn't you be willing to die for one of your people?"

Sonia's eyes went wide. "Well, I-"

"Hey! You've got some nerve, talking to Sonia-san that way!" Hinata did a double take – he hadn't even noticed that Souda had been paying attention, let alone Gundam, Kuzuryuu, Mioda, and Saionji. Gundam was stroking his chin with one hand and a hamster in the other, Kuzuryuu was scowling, Saionji was rolling her eyes, and Mioda was looking at Togami and rocking back and forth on her heels.

Sonia narrowed her eyes at Souda. "Souda-san, it's really alright-"

"Not to me it ain't." Kuzuryuu folded his arms and looked over at Togami with about as much malice as he could fit onto his childlike face. "I was right, wasn't I? About you thinkin' you're better than the rest of us?"

Togami returned Kuzuryuu's glare, but he didn't look vindictive so much as exasperated. "I don't feel like getting in an argument right now," he said. "It's late. We should be heading back."

"Does Byakuya-chan mean we're going back to the party?" Mioda said. "Or…"

"Do you actually think the party's still happening?" Saionji said. "If you do your head's even emptier than your music."

"Of _course _it isn't happening. It's more important now to get some rest…and regroup tomorrow." Togami turned and walked toward the elevator. "It's good we pulled though this. It is."

For a moment Hinata thought this might have been a lead-in to another speech. Perhaps one about how they should unite as a group, or learn from the mistakes Komaeda or Hanamura had made. But Togami stepped into the far corner of the elevator without another word, and the rest of them followed just as silently. Hinata couldn't imagine what the rest of them were thinking.

He was the last one to leave the trial room. As he left he passed Komaeda's portrait, and found himself thinking of the party, and the very last moments he'd seen him alive before the room had gone dark. His serene expression remained in his mind even as he tried to think of other things.

* * *

It was three in the morning when they emerged. Some of them remained in front of the mountain, continuing their conversations, but Hinata knew that he didn't want to be around anyone else any longer. He said a blanket good-bye to whoever happened to be listening, and headed back to his cottage.

Once inside, he kicked off his shoes, turned out the light, and threw himself onto his bed fully clothed. He wasn't surprised when, twenty minutes later, he hadn't even shut his eyes. Hanamura's screams were filling his ears, and his execution was playing over and over again in his mind.

He grabbed the sides of his bed and yelled as loud as he could, but didn't even come close to drowning out the noise. He pushed himself up and punched his pillow in frustration, then punched it again, and again, and again. But then Komaeda's face flashed in his mind, right on the pillow, and he couldn't bear to touch or even be in the same room as it anymore.

He got out of bed, put his shoes back on, and headed outside, bracing himself against the chilly night air. There was no lights in the windows and no one on the boardwalk, and when Hinata laid eyes on Komaeda and Hanamura's cottage signs he was sure he didn't want to be there, either.

He started walking, leaving the cottages behind. He didn't have a destination in mind at first, but when he saw the poolside in his peripheral vision, it seemed like a good one. It was tranquil, it had a good view of the stars, and it was completely deserted…or so he thought until he got there.

Togami was sitting on the side of the beach chair farthest from the path. He had changed from his food-stained suit into a fresh one, and his wet hair suggested that he had washed the grease out of it. He did not see Hinata at first, as he was looking up at the sky with the same unreadable expression he had used all night.

Hinata wasn't sure whether or not to go somewhere else and leave Togami to his thoughts. But before he could decide, Togami turned his head. "Hinata," he said, his eyes wide at the sight of him. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Shouldn't you?" Hinata walked closer, but stopped several feet away. There was a beach chair near him, but he did not sit.

"Perhaps," Togami said. He folded his hands in his lap, and looked back up at the sky.

There was a short silence, which made Hinata feel very awkward. "If I'm interrupting you-"

"You're not," Togami said. "You and I are out here for the same reason, aren't we? In that case, it's more like you're joining me."

"That's reasonable," Hinata said. His legs were beginning to ache, likely from all the standing he'd done during the trial, so he did sit, one chair away from Togami.

"Of course." Togami paused for a short time. "Hinata, should I be alive right now?"

"Huh?"

"If I hadn't tripped on the carpet, I might have reached Komaeda before he reached the knife. If that had happened, it is likely that Hanamura might have killed me, instead of Komaeda."

"That's…" Hinata felt his vision begin to swim at the very thought of such a scenario. "That's a big logical leap to make. You have no way of knowing that."

"I don't, but that's not the point." Togami turned to face Hinata. He looked subtly, but unquestionably, sad. "Do I have any right to be living right now, when Komaeda and Hanamura died due to my negligence?"

"Hold on." Hinata folded his arms and leaned them against his knees. "To be honest, Togami, it seems like you've been spouting a lot of hyperbole all night. I don't think you're to blame for anything, especially not anything they did."

"Do you really?" Togami laughed bitterly. "I suppose that would make sense to you."

"And why just to me?"

"There's another thing I withheld from you all during the trial. Not on purpose, but simply because there was never an opportunity to share it." Togami reached into his suit pocket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and unfolded it. "I received this letter last night. I'm sure you can guess who sent it."

Hinata looked at the writing on the paper. In neat handwriting, it read: _Watch out. The first murder will occur tomorrow night. It is inevitable. _

"I…I can." He not only guessed – he imagined. He saw Komaeda bidding him goodnight with a smile. He saw Komaeda taking a sheet of paper and a pen, and writing the words. Had he been smiling? Laughing?

"This letter is the entire reason I arranged tonight's party. I wanted to catch whoever wrote it, and keep everyone safe. Including its writer. And yet, two deaths occurred. And why?"

He folded the letter back up. "I didn't search any of the lodge rooms beyond the main hall and kitchen. I didn't even know they were unlocked. If I had, I might have located and neutralized the irons and trap door. No blackout for Komaeda, no access route for Hanamura. I didn't question the needless lamp on the needless table. If I had, there would have been no knife and no signal."

Togami's hands balled into fists in his lap. "And the meat on a bone…it was right there. I passed directly over it. I didn't question Hanamura when he said one was missing. I didn't stretch the limits of my suspicion, and because of that…"

"Togami, I was there too. I didn't think to search it either-"

"But you weren't responsible for everyone!" Togami rounded on Hinata, looking very angry, but also very pained. It was unlike anything Hinata had ever seen on his face before. He felt his own eyes widening.

Then Togami jerked back, covered his head with his hand, and took several deep breaths. "I'm not…" He shook his head, took another breath, and began again. "I'm not…don't get the wrong idea, Hinata." He removed his hand, revealing neutral features. "This isn't a collapse."

"Are you sure?" Hinata felt, more strongly than ever, like he really was intruding on something. "It's not anything shameful -"

"Whatever you think is shameful isn't happening," Togami said sternly. "Maybe your inferior mind is imagining something, but how can I expect a simple _commoner_ 's judgment to trump my own?"

It was such a radical shift back to typical Togami behavior that Hinata was no longer sure what exactly 'typical' was. "Well, okay," he said, not entirely believing it. "But in any case…you're not responsible for everything just because you got a letter."

Togami looked blankly at him for a time, then at the ground. "I appreciate your attempt at input," he said. "But this letter gave me knowledge you did not have. I could have used it to its fullest extent." He sighed; Hinata watched his stomach rise and fall as he did so. "I could have caught them. I could have talked to them…"

"You really don't know if that would've worked, though. On Hanamura, maybe, but Komaeda?" Hinata felt a twinge of tension. "The way Hanamura spoke about him…well, I don't know. I'll never understand what they were thinking. I've never had the urge to murder anyone."

"Not even now?"

"_Especially_ not now."

"I see." Togami nodded. "I hope you're not trying to trick me."

Something in the way Togami said this unnerved Hinata. "Not at all," he said.

"Good." Togami nodded. "Don't let him trouble you, Hinata. Much could have been different, but where is now, he can no longer hurt any of us."

"I don't know about that," Hinata said.

"He's in the past. The past only has the power we give it." Togami shifted slightly in his chair. "Nothing I have said to you tonight is to be shared with any of the others. Do you understand?"

"I literally had no plans to say anything."

"I would hope so." Togami stood up. "I don't think I'll be sleeping any time soon. I'm going for a walk."

"Hmm," Hinata said.

"And it's nothing against you, but I'd like to be alone."

"Hmm." Hinata hadn't had any intention of following him in the first place. "I'll…try to go back to bed, then."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata."

Togami walked away from the poolside and towards the beach. Hinata watched him until he disappeared into the palm trees, then got up and walked off in the opposite direction. He tried to think of what he'd just heard on the way back to his cabin, but with little success. He was very, very tired all of a sudden, and his brain was not working as well as he usually preferred.

* * *

_16 DAYS LEFT_

* * *

And there you have it. See you later for more fun!

- Carth


	3. Chapter Two, Part One

Hello everyone! I said I'd deliver, and I delivered. I hope you still like this!

Also, tws for this chapter: allusions to suicide, body shaming courtesy of Kuzuryuu.

* * *

**Chapter Two, Part One**

_komaeda theater_

"_So how do I feel?_

"_Well, having a skewer shoved through your heart is unimaginably painful. But it also killed me instantly, so I didn't feel the others, or really anything else. But I guess I've come to expect that. Anyone else might've been stabbed five or six times and slowly bled to death, but once again my luck conquers all, doesn't it? If I had I might have screamed, and then they might have found me faster, and then I might have had to look into their faces as I died._

"_But really, I couldn't be happier or more proud of you all. And I think I'm feeling very good about what I did. I guess I could be hurt that Hanamura-kun called me a monster, and deranged, even after everything I've done to help him…but I suppose I deserve it, useless as I am. And besides, this is death, isn't it? It's the state of being where nothing anyone does in the world of the living can ever hurt you again. So I'll be forgiving. I'll understand that Hanamura-kun didn't even realize the hope that he was invoking. And Togami-kun…don't even get me started, I'll bore you if I haven't already!_

"_Teruteru Hanamura-kun, Super High School Level Chef, in that brief moment when you thought you weren't going to die, that Togami-kun was going to take your place and you could walk free of your crime with no consequences, what were you feeling? Regret? Joy? Anger? Or was it another feeling, the one that Togami-kun sacrificed so that you could have it if for only a moment?_

"_But I'm not talking to Hanamura-kun. He's gone somewhere even I can't reach him. Perhaps a Super High School Level Medium could, though. Do you think that might be your talent, Hinata-kun? We might as well give it a sho-_

* * *

"Um, this is an announcement from Hope's Peak Academy's Field Trip Executive Committee... Good morning, you bastards! It's another perfect tropical day! Let's enjoy it for all it's worth!"

It was another moment before Hinata had the energy to open his eyes. He could practically feel the sleep he didn't get, but now that he was up there was really no turning back.

He sat up, stumbled out of the bed, and headed for the bathroom. He'd been dreaming, he knew. Something about Hanamura and spirit diviners…something Komaeda had been telling him, in the dream. He couldn't remember exactly. But he did remember Komaeda attempting to kill. And Hanamura succeeding. And the trial, and everything that came after.

He didn't want the memories, but he could pretend they weren't there, at least for the walk to the restaurant. He was quite hungry – dinner had been interrupted somewhat – but he was reluctant to see everyone. He knew he'd have to face them, knew life would have to go on, but it didn't feel real when it hadn't happened yet.

Just as he'd expected, a several people were at the restaurant when he arrived. Awkward hellos were exchanged as Hinata sat down to eat, but no conversation could sustain itself. Everyone knew just whose faces were missing, but no one wanted to be the first to acknowledge it – at least not until Saionji bounded in with a smile on her face.

"Eh? What's with all the long faces?" she said once she got a good look at everyone. "Geez, it's dead as Komaeda and Hanamura in here!"

A shiver ran down Hinata's back at her words, and everyone else looked at least uncomfortable, but Tsumiki's shanking was the most dramatic. "B-but…how…how can you-"

"I didn't ask to see or hear you, ugly." Tsumiki whimpered and apologized, but Saionji paid her no more mind. "Really, guys? Really? I don't get it. How can you get all worked up like this over two murderers? We should be grateful they killed each other before they killed any of us."

"While it is true that their souls have flown from us, their judgment is still at hand." Tanaka posed dramatically, with a hamster in his hand. "Ibis awaits to weigh their sins on the scales of justice. If their hearts are lighter than the featherweight, let them pass safely to the other side, but if not-!"

"I can understand how you feel, Saionji," Pekoyama said, ignoring Tanaka. "But in the case of Hanamura…"

"Whatever excuse you're about to make, I don't want to hear it." Saionji gave Pekoyama a look that scared even Hinata. "Maybe you actually think that Mr. Porkfeet should have died in his place?"

The atmosphere somehow grew even thicker. Hinata hadn't even wanted to remember what Togami had done – but now it was clearly on everyone's minds. "No," Pekoyama said. "That is absolutely not what I was going to say-"

"Um, I'm sorry, but s-speaking of Togami-kun…" Tsumiki spoke so quietly Hinata could hardly hear her. "He and Kuzuryuu-kun, they're the only ones not here…"

"I saw Kuzuryuu earlier," Pekoyama said quickly. "He's not coming."

"That's not surprising. But…" Hinata looked around the restaurant again. "Is Togami really not here?"

"I think if he was we'd know by now," Souda said.

"Yeah, but it's weird, isn't it?" Owari put a hand to her chin. "I wouldn't think he'd be late for breakfast…"

"Or anything at all, at that," Nidai interjected. "Does anyone know where he is?"

"Not really, no," Koizumi said. "And he calls himself our leader?"

"Ibuki knocked on his door this morning, but he didn't answer!" Mioda said. "Maybe Ibuki didn't knock hard enough? From now on Ibuki will always knock and yell at the same time! That way there's no mistake!"

"No, your knocking was loud enough," Owari said. "And I thought the Monobear announcement was bad…"

"We can check again, Mioda-san," Nanami said. "But for now, when was the last time anyone saw Togami-kun? That might give us a clue…I think."

Everyone's answers were the same – they hadn't seen Togami since they had exited the trial chamber. Before long Hinata was the last one who hadn't spoken. _Nothing I have said to you tonight is to be shared with any of the others, _Togami had said, but Hinata didn't know how far that extended, or whether what he knew would be at all helpful anyway. "I don't know," he said for the time being.

"Maybe he went and did himself in?" Saionji said. "He seemed pretty eager last night. Or _maybe_-"

"You can stop there, Saionji-san," Sonia said. "We shouldn't be making those kinds of assumptions."

"Someone should probably go and find him, though." Hinata looked to the stairwell. "Just to make sure he's alright."

"Are you volunteering, then?" Pekoyama said.

"Well…now that you've put me on the spot, looks like I have." He tried to laugh it off, but the best he could manage was a strained smile. "It might take a while to comb the island by myself, though."

"Ooh! Ibuki'll come too!" Mioda rushed for the stairs. "Can she? Can she?"

"Well, sure," Hinata said. "I don't know why you'd need my permission."

"You know what, I'll come too," Owari said. "Anything to get away from this _smell._"

"Smell?" No sooner had Hinata spoken than he suddenly became aware of it – and clamped his hand over his nose as fast as he could. "Wait a minute – what IS that smell?"

The smell turned out to be coming from Saionji, who confessed in tears that she didn't know how to tie her own obi and had thus not been bathing. Koizumi offered to help her, but Hinata never saw Saionji's response – Owari yelled at him to hurry up, and so he left the restaurant with Mioda at his heels.

* * *

Once out of the building, the three of them split up. Mioda claimed the hotel grounds and beach and Owari the supermarket and airport, leaving Hinata the old lodge and the central island. The lodge had been excluded from Mioda's claim due to its size, but as Hinata walked towards the building he felt a bit wary of what he might find inside, and was certain Owari and Mioda had felt the same. _This is where Komaeda died,_ he remembered with every step. _And I'll never understand why._

Still, he thought, he wouldn't be surprised if Togami were here – so he was even less surprised when the office, supply closet, bathroom, and kitchen were deserted. It did take some time for Hinata to work up the nerve to open up the banquet hall – he had to tell himself quite sternly that there was nothing to fear. But when he did, he found it bare. All of the tables were gone, and all traces of the murder, including Komaeda's body, had been completely cleaned away. Only the food-stained carpet remained as evidence that the party had ever happened at all.

Hinata turned to go, stood in the doorway for a moment, then turned right back and walked to the edge of the carpet, where Komaeda's body had lain. He examined the floorboards and scrutinized every fiber of the carpet, looking for a strand of hair, a fleck of blood, anything. But he found nothing. He stood, and put his hands in his pockets.

"I guess…I'm glad I didn't have to see that again," he said aloud to himself. "But where could his body have gone? And who took it?"

"Upupupu! Secrets, secrets!"

A pair of feet appeared in Hinata's peripheral vision, and he turned to see Monobear leaning against the wall. "You," Hinata grumbled. "What do you want?"

"What do _I _want? Don't you already know that, Hinata-kun?"

"I'm not really in the mood to talk to you."

"No? Not even me, an adorable ball of fun?" Monobear laughed and laughed. "I can be so bold, I'm looking for a good friend of mine, as well! Or rather, I know exactly where my Monobeast is, and I'm looking for the dirty rat that destroyed them!"

"Wait-what?" Hinata's eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Hey! It isn't my responsibility to tell!" Monobear threw his paws up and began stamping up and down. "But really, if you know who I'm looking for, and you find them, do me a favor and kill them, would you? It would spice things up a bit, and it'd be our little secret!"

"I don't have time for this." Hinata turned and started for the exit. "I need to find Togami. And I'm _not _killing anyone."

"Upupu…that's what they all say, and the ones that mean it make wonderful victims. But I have better things to do with my time than talk to you. Go on, keep wandering around until you're satisfied!"

Hinata reached the doors of the main hall and shut them behind him, blocking out Monobear's voice. He exited the lodge, and once his feet hit the ground he broke into a run. If the second island had been opened, he'd need a lot more help than he had.

He found Mioda checking behind all the cottages as he was passing through the hotel grounds. He convinced her to come with him back to the lobby, where they ran into Owari ran into them right in front of the lobby. Neither Mioda nor Owari had found Togami, but they had both also encountered Monobear and been given the same cryptic message about the Monobeast. Owari had run right back to tell everyone, and she and Hinata agreed that it was likely that Togami was on either the central or second island – though what he was doing there, none of them knew.

As they entered the lobby, they were surprised to see everyone else exiting the restaurant – and even more surprised to hear that they already knew that the second island was open. Nanami explained that they had been visited by Monomi, who told them that she had "obwiterated" one of the Monobeasts, opening up the second island for them to explore. Hinata, in turn, told her that they had been unable to find Togami, and shared their hypothesis that he was on one of the other islands.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he went to explore ahead of us, even if it is odd that he didn't tell anyone," Sonia said. "This second island might hold a clue as to how to leave. We probably have nothing to worry about at all."

"Still, did you check the ocean?" Saionji grinned. "You can't deny it's possible-"

"Saionji-san, enough!" Sonia made a sweeping motion with her arm.

"I think we should take a look first, Hiyoko-chan," Koizumi said.

"But you promised to help me with my obi!" Saionji's eyes filled with tears. "I'm not going to go around with everyone telling me I stink!"

So Saionji pulled Koizumi back towards the cottages, and the rest of them headed away from the hotel, all speculating about what they might find. They took the bridge, passed through the central island (also empty, apart from the other three Monobeasts), and crossed the next bridge, over to the new island.

* * *

Once they had all gone their separate ways, the first thing Hinata encountered was the ruin. It was tall, greyish-brown, and covered in vines in various stages of death and decay. It looked somehow familiar, though Hinata couldn't place where he had seen it. Nanami was the only other one there, standing fast asleep; when Hinata woke her, she told him that she planned to explore the ruin herself, and directly told him to leave.

Hinata kept an eye out for Togami as he continued down the road, but he saw nothing but flowers, trees, and another, fancier building looming ahead. He didn't want to be worried about Togami – he was a businessman, after all, the very definition of someone who could take care of himself. But being _mystified _by his behavior was an acceptable substitute. _But you weren't responsible for everyone, _he remembered him saying. _This is not a collapse. _There were multiple conclusions he could come to from this alone, but they were all assumptions, none of which fit Togami's mold just right. He'd need more information, and he didn't know exactly what he would get, if anything.

He entered the fancy building and found himself in an expansive library, which, upon examination, he found to be full of books in languages he could not read. Only Sonia and Pekoyama were inside of it; Pekoyama was looking at the spines, trying to find something in Japanese or so she explained, while Sonia told him quite cheerfully about the occult magazines she had found and the serial killers described therein.

Hinata listened to her for a while, but soon left – if he couldn't read any of the books, there was nothing else to interest him there. He walked a ways around the island, and was just about to enter the next building – a pharmacy, from the looks of it – when he heard a series of indistinct shouts from several buildings away.

Instantly he knew the pharmacy would have to wait. He set off down the road, each step taking him closer to a metallic building labeled "DINER" in large, English letters. As he was about to cross into the parking lot, he saw someone standing in the building's doorway, and was just about to walk up and ask what was going on when he realized who it was.

He doubled back and hid around the corner. He couldn't see what was going on – not without being seen, he was sure – but he could hear the voices loud and clear. "Maybe I wasn't clear," Kuzuryuu said. "Either you get out of my way, or I ram my foot up your ass!"

"What a childish threat." _Togami_. "I won't be bullied out of here, and you're wasting your time trying. Either you behave like a civilized human being, or you leave."

"I don't have to listen to you," Kuzuryuu said.

"But you should. I'm not done exploring this area yet. I won't be leaving until I'm satisfied with my conclusions."

"Conclusions, my ass! All I saw was you sitting there stuffing your face!"

"And if I was, what's it to you? Everyone eats. Weren't you, just now, coming here to eat?" Kuzuryuu made a brief, indistinct sound before Togami talked over him, speaking very quickly. "But that doesn't matter. There really is no need for this argument to be happening."

"Then book it," Kuzuryuu said.

"That's not what I meant. I mean that you have no need to confront me. I understand if you want to be alone. You may get your food and do that."

"What, with your _permission_? You really think we need that?"

"I don't think you understand," Togami said. "I'm conceding. In fact, there are things I need to check outside."

There was a long pause. "I'll take my sweet time," Kuzuryuu said, followed by the opening and closing of a door.

There was a short silence, then the sound of footsteps. Hinata inched closer to the edge of the building, and then looked out. Togami had stepped outside the diner, and taken a few steps into the parking lot. He turned his head to the side, and Hinata ducked away again. He heard Togami's footsteps coming closer. "Oy, who's there?"

"Huh-" Hinata looked out from behind the corner to find Togami farther away, and looking in the opposite direction. As he watched, he turned towards the corner and saw him.

"Hinata," he said.

"Togami." Hinata stood and walked into full view, brushing himself off. It felt very odd to be seeing Togami again, given the way their last conversation had gone. "How'd you know I was here?"

"You ran right across my line of sight." Togami folded his arms. "But I suppose there's no harm in you overhearing anything, if you're going to be that clumsy."

"Clumsy? But how was I supposed to – wait, no, that doesn't matter right now." Hinata walked closer to Togami. "Everyone's been looking for you. How long have you been here?"

"Not long." Togami looked askance for a moment before continuing. Hinata looked up at his face, and for the first time noticed his unkempt hair and the dark, heavy circles under his eyes. "I've explored the entire island, looking for anything that might help or hinder us. Thus far there are only very few items of concern…but I digress. How did you discover this place, Hinata? And Kuzuryuu, for that matter?"

"Huh?" Hinata folded his arms as well. "I don't know about Kuzuryuu, but long story short, Monomi found the rest of us at breakfast-"

"Wait, breakfast? What time is it?"

"Uh…noon?"

"_Noon?_" Togami's face contorted. "But – no! How did it get to be that late already? I can't have been-"

"What? No, it's okay, it happens-"

"Where is everyone, Hinata?" Togami said, sounding desperate. "Are they all on the island? Are they –"

There was a soft jingling sound; Hinata turned to see Kuzuryuu exiting the diner, a burger in hand. He brushed past Hinata and walked briskly down the street without looking at either of them. Togami waited for him to get to the road, then turned for the diner. "We have work to do," he said. "You can fill me in inside."

"Huh?" Hinata said, but Togami didn't answer him – he went inside, and Hinata followed.

The diner was a dull, metallic place, covered in neon signs. There were several booths off to the right, and as soon as Hinata saw that one of them was covered in empty plates Togami rocketed toward it, stacking the plates at high speed. "Now, you didn't answer me," he said.

"You didn't finish your question." Hinata looked over at the serving counter.

"I didn't? Yes I did. Or did I…it doesn't matter. Is everyone on the island? Where are they, exactly?"

"I think so," Hianta said, "But I can't really tell you where everyone is. They're moving all over. And why do you need to know, anyway?"

"This is new terrain, Hinata. Monobear could have prepared anything for us here." Togami picked up the stack of dishes. "Traps, hidden motives…"

"But didn't you just say there wasn't anything to worry about?" Hinata looked over at the plates Togami was carrying. "Do you…need any help?"

"No." Togami deposited the dishes behind the counter and turned to face Hinata. "If I'm not there to keep everyone together, what do you think would happen?"

"Well, honestly, Togami, we've been fine all morning-"

"But what if you weren't?" Togami closed his eyes, and pressed a hand to his temple. "But perhaps I've got it wrong. Do you think I'm incapable of protecting anyone, Hinata?"

"I…really didn't say anything like that at all-"

"You didn't tell anyone anything I said last night, did you?" Togami pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What-no!"

"Then you have no reason not to answer this." Togami removed his hand from his face. It hit Hinata just how red his eyes looked. "Is there anyone at the large building with the vines? The one with the gun turret?"

"Gun turret?" Hinata didn't remember seeing anything of the sort. "Just Nanami, she wanted to explore it herself-"

"This is worse than I imagined." Togami rushed back down the aisle, towards the exit. "How could any of you have thought this was a good idea?" he mumbled. "How could you be so _disorganized?_ No, no, that's not it, how could _I _be so _negligent_-"

"Wait, Togami…" Hinata ran in front of him, trying to position himself in front of the exit. "Slow down for a second-"

"Byakuya-chan?"

Togami stopped, and Hinata jumped back. Mioda was leaning against the door, smooshing her face into the glass and waving enthusiastically. Behind her, Hinata could see Owari and Nidai stop in their tracks and then rush for the door.

"Mioda…" Hinata opened the door, and Mioda bounded in with a smile.

"There you are!" she said. "Oh! And Hajime-chan! Why didn't you tell us you'd found Byakuya-chan?"

Hinata shrugged. "I haven't really had the chance…"

"I didn't need to be found, Mioda." Togami's expression had changed entirely – his usual condescending look was back. "I knew where I was."

"Aw!" Mioda pouted. "But Ibuki looked all over for you!"

"Yeah, me too!" Owari leaned against the door, swinging it back open. "You could've at least left a note…"

"I didn't think I'd be gone long enough to warrant one." Togami covered his mouth, suppressing something that sounded like a cross between a cough and a yawn. "I didn't mean to worry anyone. I…what was it…"

"Lost track of time?" Nidai offered from outside.

"Of course not, that would be foolish. I was on a walk. That was all."

Mioda scratched her head. "Ibuki's more confused than ever…"

"Look, does it matter?" Togami scowled. "For that matter, is it the position of those being led to question the decisions of a leader? Isn't it well within my right to do things you won't understand and not have to explain them to you?"

_This is definitely not what Togami told me a second ago, _Hinata thought. "Togami," he began, without entirely knowing where his sentence was going. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

Togami's eyes narrowed in turn. "And why does that matter at all?"

"TOGAMI!" Nidai shouted. "DID YOU SLEEP AT ALL LAST NIGHT?"

Hinata jumped, Mioda whooped and laughed, and Owari lifted just one eyebrow. Togami covered one ear and grimaced. "…No," he said after some time.

"And the night before that?" Hinata said, remembering the letter.

"An amount," Togami mumbled.

"That would explain it," Nidai said. "Disjointed thoughts, inconsistent behavior…Togami, we understand your dedication, but it may be best for you right now to get some rest."

"What…" Togami's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine."

"No you're not, take my word for it," Owari said. "After day two you start seeing things."

"Ibuki completely agrees!" Mioda said. "Once on tour Ibuki didn't sleep for three days straight. But she doesn't actually remember what happened!"

"Well, that's just you, then. I'm not seeing anything, and in fact I have business elsewhere." Togami folded his arms. "Out of my way, plankton. You're blocking the door with your body."

"Togami, the door's over there." Hinata took a step back, in order to avoid having Togami ram into him. Mioda giggled behind them. "Look…" He racked his brains, desperately searching for wisdom Togami wouldn't reject. "Isn't part of being a leader sometimes accepting that the people around you can see things you can't? I mean, you can't be right _all _the time."

Togami's eyes narrowed. "Your reasoning would be sound on anyone that wasn't me. I have a duty and I'm capable of carrying it out at all times."

"You're doing exactly what I just said you shouldn't."

"Look, we'll be fine," Owari said. "Anyone tries to hurt anyone, I'll punch them in the face. You can count on me!"

"Wouldn't that just be you hurting someone, though?" Hinata said.

While Owari laughed at Hinata, Togami put a hand to his chin, pondering for some time. "Perhaps this is the price I have to pay," he mumbled before raising his head. "Alright. I'll go."

"A wise choice!" Nidai laughed. "Let's go, then! There's no time to waste!"

"I don't need an escort – well, you may accompany me if it suits you." He turned back to face Hinata. "Hinata, I designate you interim leader. You are to keep everyone together until I return. Do you understand?"

"Wait-what? Togami, you can't-" It was too late – Hinata's protests went unheard. Togami had already left with Nidai, stumbling slightly in the parking lot as he went.

* * *

Hinata's first order of business was to make Mioda and Owari swear not to breathe a word about him being "interim leader", but even then he wasn't sure whether it would pop out at the worst moment. He went back to the pharmacy, where he saw Tsumiki positively enraptured with all the medicine, and was halfway to the beach on the far end of the island when he ran into Nanami, who told him to meet her back at the ruins as soon as possible.

As it turned out, he was the last one she had found, so he ended up walking back with her as the sun inched lower in the sky. Hinata told her about Togami's discovery, which, to his surprise, she already knew about – she'd passed Nidai and Togami on the way. Togami had admonished her not to go near the ruins as they were dangerous. She had thanked him for his input, whereupon she went into the library and called Sonia and Pekoyama to the ruins. She didn't seem to understand why Hinata was laughing so hard.

Everyone was there when they arrived, apart from Togami – even Koizumi, Saionji, and Kuzuryuu had shown up, and Nidai told them that Togami had left him at the bridge, saying he would go the rest of the way himself. He, Owari and Mioda had already told everyone about Togami, leaving in rather more details than Hinata might have, and everyone was discussing the news, along with their findings on the rest of the island.

"Yay!" Saionji jumped up and down. "Mr. Porkfeet's not dead! For now!"

"But what was he even doing?" Souda said. "If he really wanted to explore the island, why didn't he wait for us?"

"If you ask me, he's acting pretty irresponsibly," Koizumi said. "A leader needs to serve the people. You can't call yourself a leader and then do all this impulsive stuff nobody understands."

"I don't think he's doing it on purpose," Sonia offered. "He puts an immense amount of pressure on himself. To take the responsibility for everything that has happened is too great a weight to bear."

"But shouldn't that not be a big deal for him?" Pekoyama said. "He's a Super High School Level Heir, I'd imagine he's handled worse."

"I believe half the stuff he was doing was because he was tired," Nidai said. "He should be back to normal by tomorrow."

"Then that would be a good time to ask him all this," Hinata said. If he was going to be interim leader, whether anyone knew it or not, he might as well assert himself. "But for now – Nanami, what did you have to show us here?"

"If it's not a way out of here you're wasting my time," Kuzuryuu said.

Nanami shook her head. As it turned out, she had explored the entire perimeter of the building, but hadn't found a way in – or anything at all except a bulkhead, a number pad, and the gun turret Togami had mentioned. The bulkhead's door looked like it had once been covered in dirt, but a good amount of it had been wiped off. There was a word visible on the door: _Future._

At that point both Monobear and Monomi showed up, both saying that they had absolutely no idea what was behind the door. Monobear then told them about an organization of "World Destroyers", of which Monobear and Monomi may or may not be a part; and gave them more information about the supposed traitor in their midst – particularly that they were a member of these World Destroyers, and that they should be found and killed.

By the time they disappeared, though, no one really understood what they'd said or why. Given it was getting late, Nanami suggested calling it a night, which everyone agreed to readily.

The sun sank below the horizon as Hinata walked back to his cabin. The lights in Togami's cabin next door were out; he was either asleep or not there. Hinata chose not to concern himself with that right now. His legs and eyelids were feeling heavy; he only wished he'd had this kind of exhaustion a day ago. He fell right into his bed without doing anything else.

* * *

_komaeda theater_

"_Have you forgotten me yet?_

"_I lived down the road from you, you know. You could get up every day and leave the cottages without even passing my nameplate, or even remembering that my cottage is still there. You could forget my cottage completely. Did you ever even know it was there?_

"_Have you forgotten me yet? There's no sign I'm gone. No fifteenth and sixteenth chairs left empty. The crowd's so large two people gone don't make a difference. You can replace me. _

"_Have you forgotten me yet? You only knew me for three days, after all. Will you remember me briefly, and wonder why you did? Will you know what I meant to you? Will I mean anything to you? How will you know if it matters? How will you know if I know?_

"_Have you forgotten me yet? Do you wonder what could have been? Do I weigh on your mind night after night? You would, if I were there and you were here. The difference might be that you would wonder what you did to deserve this, and I would know exactly._

"_Have you forgotten me? Well, I won't be insecure anymore. I know you won't, after all."_

* * *

Togami not only showed up to breakfast in the morning, but was one of the first to do so.

He arrived not long after Hinata, who had just greeted Koizumi, Saionji, Sonia, and Mikan when he saw him coming up the stairs. Hinata hadn't realized until then how long it had been since he'd seen him looking well-rested – it was a definite improvement, he thought. When Togami reached the top, he looked up at all of them and cleared his throat.

None of them heard, so he did it again. "Good morning," he said when at least two of them had looked up.

"Oh – hey," Hinata said, but he was the only one to do so immediately. Koizumi scowled, Mikan wrung her hands, and Saionji grunted. Sonia hesitated for an uncomfortable second before she could say anything. "Ah, hello," she said, "Are you feeling better, Togami-san?"

"Feeling better?" Togami looked over at Hinata, then back at Sonia. He pushed his glasses up his face. "What are you talking about?"

"W-well…" Tsumiki seemed frightened of the sound of her own voice. "We didn't see you at all yesterday…and Mioda-san and Owari-san…they said…"

"Whatever they said it was an exaggeration. I had matters to attend to yesterday. I'm fine." Again Togami took a glance at Hinata; Hinata wasn't sure if Togami was trying to tell him something. "But no doubt you believed them? How pathetic."

"Isn't she, though?" Saionji laughed, and Tsumiki whimpered.

"Hiyoko-chan…" Koizumi shook her head, then turned to Togami. "Hey, where do you get off talking to Mikan-chan that way?"

"To Tsumiki, you mean?" Togami folded his arms. "I wasn't speaking to her. I was speaking to everyone. I don't recall you having a complaint before."

Tsumiki whimpered more loudly. "And that means I can't now? Is that a law you just made up?" Koizumi rolled her eyes. "Congratulations on showing up, by the way. It's not like the rest of us do that every day or anything."

Everyone's eyes went wide .Sonia made a soft "oooo" sound. Togami was silent for a beat. "Do you have a problem, Koizumi?"

"Do I have a _problem_?" Koizumi stood from her chair so fast she practically knocked it over. "You…okay, it was bad enough that you appointed yourself to something we should've chosen as a group. And I accepted it, I knew that no one else wanted the job, but given your behavior-"

"Koizumi, I don't think…" Hinata instantly regretted speaking, as he didn't know how to finish his sentence. Mioda, Gundam, and Souda had arrived in the meantime, and they stood at the top of the stairway in stunned silence. As Hinata watched, Owari swung herself up by the banister, grinning all the while.

"Hinata, this is not your argument," Togami said. "Koizumi, are you angry that I didn't keep my promise?"

"Promise? That… I don't know what you would've done," Koizumi said, "But you know what you _could've_ done? Oh, I don't know, maybe not intentionally keep secrets from us? Would we really have fallen to pieces if we knew Komaeda was going to kill someone?"

"Koizumi-san," Sonia said, "Secrecy is a vital part of leadership and I would have done the same-"

"And maybe if you want to be a leader, why don't you actually _lead_ instead of disappearing for a full day without telling anyone?" Koizumi looked around at everyone that had arrived – which was now everyone, apart from Kuzuryuu. "But don't you think we got along fine without Togami, guys?"

"Whoa, whoa, don't pull us into this!" Souda held up his hands. "Long as I'm not dead, I'm cool!" Several other people made general noises of assent.

"Don't pull you into this? If he's your leader, you already are." Koizumi walked up to Togami and glared straight ahead, which, given the height difference, meant she was staring into his tie. "Come on, Togami. Where were you yesterday? We have a right to know."

Togami tilted his head down, his formerly immovable expression broken by a twitching eyebrow. "I…" He took an exaggerated pause. Hinata saw Mioda and Owari look over at each other, and Nidai clear his throat, but say nothing. "If you must know, I was cleaning the lodge."

Koizumi blinked. "You were…what?"

"Cleaning the lodge. I meant to retrieve Komaeda's body, but it had been removed, though nothing else had been touched."

"Then why were you on the second island?" Mioda said.

"Yeah," Koizumi said, "Owari said you were hanging around the diner talking nonsense-"

"All I said was he was a little out of it-"

"Whatever happened, that is an _exaggeration_," Togami said, hitting the final word hard. "It's true I didn't sleep last night. I meant to go ahead to the second island and report my findings to all of you at breakfast, but it took much longer than anticipated, and Hinata found me before I was done."

"_Hinata_?" Koizumi looked over at Hinata as though she had just noticed he was there. "Why didn't you say anything? How typical."

"I didn't really need to." Hinata shrugged. He didn't know what made him more uncomfortable – Koizumi's glare, or just how much Togami was covering up about what had really happened the previous day.

"Didn't say anything?" Togami raised an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose that's not surprising. But either way, once found I was advised that I was not in any condition to carry out my responsibilities until I had been rested. And now I've told you the truth. Are we done here?"

"Sure, whatever, but that doesn't change that a leader should-"

"Oy, are you still blathering about that?" Togami glared down at her. "Don't you realize the danger we're in? Does it truly matter what I'm doing at every moment? Do I ask the same thing of any of you?"

"If you did you would not be able to handle the truth!" Tanaka bellowed.

"Sure," Koizumi said, rolling her eyes. She still looked mad, but in a calmer way. "It doesn't matter if it's us. If you're going to be our leader, we need to be able to trust you."

"I know. But I have nothing more to offer you than that. It's your decision whether or not to trust me," Togami said. "Yesterday has passed. Today has its own challenges. Our responsibility from here forward-"

"Mr. Porkfeet, can you get to the point soon so I can leave?" Saionji folded her arms.

"_Our responsibility from here forward_," Togami continued, "Is to find a way off the island and to prevent any more murders from occurring. There is no more that can be done for Komaeda and Hanamura. But we can learn from their memory so as not to repeat their mistakes. And if anyone is feeling as if the murder of another student is their only escape… please consider coming to me first, for other options."

Togami sighed, and looked around. While he had been speaking, several of the others – Saionji, Owari, Souda,and Mikan – had moved from their spots and begun to get their breakfast. Most of the others headed there now without another word to Togami, but Mioda and Tanaka still stood as if enraptured, and Nidai was rooted to the spot by Nanami, who had been sleeping against his shoulder the entire time. Koizumi gave him a look that was somewhere between animosity and confusion, then turned her back on him as well.

Hinata looked over at Togami. "That was…intense," he found he needed to say.

"It needed to be." Togami nodded, but did not continue the conversation. Hinata waited a moment, then turned as well, and headed for the breakfast tables, where the conversation had moved on to other things.

* * *

From there it wasn't a particularly eventful day, for the most part. Hinata spent his morning walking around the beach with Koizumi and Nanami – but mostly Nanami, Hinata liked to think. Koizumi still seemed to be in a bit of a foul mood, and she hardly spoke to Hinata, but the walk did seem to do her some good. In the afternoon he, Souda, and Tanaka hung out in the diner and had an intense conversation about hamster breeding and the sociopolitical sphere of the wizarding world – or rather, Tanaka talked and Hinata and Souda sat stunned.

He didn't really interact with Togami, though he saw him walking around from time to time, examining the buildings on the second island or simply staring at the waves. From what he could get from other people no one else was really interacting with him either.

For some it wasn't for lack of trying. During a lull in their education about magic and hamsters, Souda and Hinata got to talking about the ruins, and Souda told Hinata that he'd run into Togami earlier and tried to strike up a conversation. They didn't have much in common, but Togami had grilled him excessively about the ruins and what had been found there. He'd listened with rapt attention, until Souda mentioned what Monobear had said about a traitor. At that point Togami cut him off, saying "This foolishness again? There is no traitor, Monobear is a liar," and stomped away.

"That almost proves he _isn_'t the traitor," Souda said to Hinata. "'Cause denying it like that, that's like painting a big target on your chest."

"And besides," Hinata replied, "If we're going to say anything for sure about this World Destroyers business we're probably going to need some more proof first. We can't just go around accusing people of being the traitor just because we think they're weird."

"That'd be a lot of traitors on this island." Souda laughed.

Still, it was a normal day through and through. Or so it went until about eight o'clock, when, not five seconds after Hinata arrived back in his dorm to rest before dinner, Monobear appeared on his room's screen, telling everyone to go immediately to Jabberwock Park.

It was odd, he thought, but up until that second he'd almost forgotten about Monobear again.

* * *

"That's right, this game is you bastards' new motive! A motive to make you bastards kill one of your classmates! I mean, unless someone does something soon, I'm going to get very bored!"

It was not, in the least, what Hinata had expected – even if he'd always expected some kind of new torture. Still, he didn't think he looked as surprised as the others. Nanami in particular looked thunderstruck at the idea of the game being a motive. They'd all been confused when they first arrived, that much was sure, but now that confusion had some anger mixed in, both in Hinata's case and the cases he saw all around him.

There were a few scattered shouts about not playing the game, but Monobear laughed and laughed at them. "How can you be so sure everyone's thinking the same way?" he said. "In fact, I'll make sure you're not sure, sure? This game's theme is _missed connections, _after all. Between those who make the connections and those that don't…who do you think is going to have the advantage?"

"Advantage? Missed connections?" Hinata looked down at Monobear. "What the hell does that mean?"

"That's for me to know and you to…" Monobear pressed his paw to his chin in an exaggerated manner. "Well, I suppose we'll see, won't we?" And then he was gone, laughing as he disappeared.

Everyone around Hinata exploded into chatter. "Really?" Souda yelled above it all. "Is he really going to pull something like that on us?"

"This doesn't make any sense," Koizumi said. "What are we supposed to do with this?"

"One thing's for sure," Pekoyama said. "None of us should go near this until we have a better idea of what it is."

"Until?" Togami looked incredulously at Pekoyama. "Are you implying we should _wait_ to take action on this?"

"That's…not what I said at all." Pekoyama folded her arms.

Togami didn't respond – he walked away from her and towards the front of the group. "Have you all forgotten what kind of situation we're in, or do I need to remind you again?" He gestured wildly towards the game cabinet. "If this game could make someone decide to kill someone else, then it's the most dangerous thing on this island as of yet. That, along with our own curiosity."

"But no one's going to play it," Sonia said. "Right?"

"You don't know that. You don't know who could be planning to play it right now."

"But if that's the case…" Tsumiki trembled. "Maybe if we play it right now, we c-can protect ourselves from it…"

"That's the kind of thinking that _will _get someone killed, not protect us. As your leader, I'm putting a stop to this completely. No one is to touch the game." Togami glared down at all of them, and Hinata could swear his eyes were full of fear. "_At_ _all._"

Some among them looked awed, others confused – Hinata felt a mix of both. He was about to ask how Togami planned to do that when Kuzuryuu preempted him. "And how are you gonna stop that?" he said, grinning. "Are you gonna block it with your double-wide ass?"

"Actually, yes, in a manner of speaking," he said without any change in expression. "From now on this game will be under guard twenty-four hours a day. Until we can leave this island, I will not have it leaving our sight."

"Isn't that kind of extreme?" Koizumi said.

"We are in kind of an extreme situation." Hinata could see everyone around him talking to each other, but wasn't sure what they were saying or whether they supported his logic or not. "But who's going to guard it? Togami can't be here all the time…"

"Of course not. That would impair my vigilance. And for that matter, I can't be here alone. We must keep an eye on each other, as well as on the game…" Togami pointed directly at Hinata. "Hinata, you and I will take the first watch!"

"Wait-what?" Hinata stepped back. "Why do you guys always think I'm volunteering for things?"

"Rest assured, Hinata, I volunteered _you._" Togami folded his arms. "Why? Do you have any objections to helping me?"

"Well, I was kind of looking forward to sleeping – I wasn't going to say no," he backpedaled when he saw the look on Togami's face. "I'll do it, it's cool."

"Yes, good." Togami chuckled. "That's what I thought you were going to do."

"Will we all share the responsibility?" Tanaka said.

"Wow, did you really just say that?" Saionji said. "You're like the kid in class who asks the teacher if there's going to be any homework. You know, the ones that always get beat up."

"I don't actually think full involvement would be practical, actually." Togami put a hand to his chin. "Protecting this will require a certain degree of physical skill. Now, who are the most physically capable people here…Nidai! Owari! Pekoyama!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Owari threw up her hands. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," Togami said.

"If this is what needs to be done, then I will do it." Pekoyama nodded, but did not look up at Togami. Nidai also nodded his ascent.

"Very well." Togami looked out at all of them. "That's five. We need one more person."

Sonia began to raise her hand, but couldn't get it above her waist before Mioda began jumping up and down. "Ooh! Ooh! Ibuki volunteers!"

"Very well. Then Nidai and Owari will take the next watch, and Mioda and Pekoyama the next, and so on. These teams will rotate every six hours-"

"Six hours!" Nidai exclaimed. "That is entirely too long to stand in one place!"

"Too long?" Togami's eyes narrowed. "Why, do you think you have something better to do than defend your friends?"

"CERTAINLY NOT!" Nidai bellowed. "BUT WHAT IF I FEEL AN _URGE_?"

"Then you can dig a little hole in the ground and conduct your business there. But you're not leaving your position."

"A _little_ hole will not suffice!" Jaws dropped across the crowd, and while Hinata wasn't sure who was shocked at Togami and who was shocked at Nidai, Hinata knew he was spread about evenly. Souda was sputtering with laughter, but he was the only one that had dared.

"Fine. Four hours." A screen nearby flashed to life, and Monobear's Night Time announcement began to play. "And now that that's settled, you can rest easy, can't you?"

There were a few nods, but Hinata did feel like most of his classmates looked more uncomfortable than they had before. Saionji, Koizumi, Owari, and Mioda set off immediately; Kuzuryuu attempted to get ahead of them, but Sonia walked in front of him and said something to him Hinata couldn't hear.

"We should take our positions, Hinata," Togami said from behind him.

"Uh, sure." Hinata turned to face Togami. "Are we going to be right next to the game?"

"As long as we have it in our sights we can probably be anywhere we like."

Hinata looked around. "Do you see anywhere to sit?"

"You can sit. I'll stand."

"Alright…" Hinata walked over to the pedestal and leaned against it, while Togami stood some distance away, equidistant from him and the game. Only three of the others remained now – Nanami, who was taking a wistful look at the game, and Sonia and Kuzuryuu, who were still talking. As Hinata watched, Sonia grabbed Kuzuryuu's arm and marched him over to where Togami stood.

"Togami-san," she said, releasing Kuzuryuu's arm. "I think Kuzuryuu-san owes you an apology."

"Really?" Togami gave Kuzuryuu a look as if he were daring him to run. "Does_ he_ think he owes me an apology?"

"Yeah, I do," Kuzuryuu smirked. "I'm sorry you have a big ass."

"_Kuzuryuu-san!" _Sonia looked about ready to slap him, but Togami held up a hand, stopping her.

"You know, that's funny," he said, "because I'm not. Get out of my sight, Kuzuryuu."

Kuzuryuu grunted. He turned away, but did not begin walking. "Hey, Togami," he said. "What if I killed someone? Just to spite you?"

Togami did not answer, nor did he show any sign of doing so. Kuzuryuu laughed and walked away, his hands in his pockets.

Sonia glared after him, then turned back to Togami. "Togami-san, I apologize -"

"You meant well," Togami said. "Don't dwell on it. Goodnight, Sonia."

"Ah – goodnight, both of you." Sonia smiled, then turned and walked back down the path to the first bridge. Nanami lingered only a moment longer before wishing them goodnight and joining Sonia.

The island suddenly felt very large and very empty. Hinata didn't really have anything to look at apart from Togami, and so he saw him take off his glasses, clean them on his lapel, put them back on, and stare intently down the path.

It didn't take long for the silence to grate on Hinata's nerves. He stood up, still leaning against the pedestal. "Togami?"

"Hinata?" Togami didn't take his eyes off the road.

"You didn't really answer my question earlier," he said. "Why do you keep volunteering me for things? This is probably the third time."

"You're usually nearby," Togami said. "Why? Do you not want to be volunteered?"

"It doesn't matter," Hinata said. "I don't know. I'm no more special than anyone else."

"I think you forget you're in a gathering of special people," Togami said. "Even if I know I am the greatest among them, I can see that."

"I don't think I'm getting that the way you think I am."

"Does that mean you still don't remember your talent?"

"No." Hinata felt a sharp pain in his forehead. "But I can't think of why I wouldn't."

"Perhaps we'll know when we're able to extract answers from Monomi." Togami pushed his glasses up his face. "Or Monobear, for that matter. Souda told me about your visit to the ruins, incidentally. These "World Destroyers"…I'm not sure if it was Monobear or Souda being so vague that it's as if I haven't learned anything at all."

"It was Monobear," Hinata said. "I thought you said they were too dangerous to go near."

"Did I?" He paused long enough that Hinata was tricked into thinking that the conversation was over. "Hinata, do you trust me?"

"Huh?"

"As a leader. Do you trust me?"

"Well…" Hinata wondered whether this was another one of those conversations that would go back around to Komaeda. He didn't think he was in the mood for that. "I don't think you've done anything to make me not trust you, if that's what you mean."

"I see." Togami nodded. "And the others?"

"You mean Koizumi?" Hinata said. "She's-"

"Koizumi's a capable leader in her own right," Togami said. "She isn't so esteemed as Byakuya Togami, but she is a respected - do you hear footsteps?"

Togami put a finger to his lips, and looked straight down the road that led to the bridges. In the nighttime quiet, Hinata could, indeed, hear a series of footsteps coming closer. "Someone's coming," he said.

"If it comes to an altercation, run," Togami said.

"Wait – if I'm just going to run, why am I here?"

"Stop asking silly questions." Togami raised his voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

There was a loud yelp, followed by several stomping footsteps, and – to Hinata's considerable surprise - Mioda came into view, running down the path at top speed. As odd as this would have been on its own, it was made even stranger when Hinata saw that she was carrying a plastic lunch tray with three bowls of instant noodles on it, balanced perfectly even as she ran.

"What in the name of –" Togami shook his head. "Mioda, what are you doing?"

"Hooah! Ibuki's been spotted!" Mioda stopped just short of the pedestal, slopping some of the noodle broth onto the tray. "Don't shoot! Ibuki is only bringing snacks!"

"Snacks?" Togami looked down at the noodles as if seeing them for the first time. His mouth fell open slightly. "That's...unexpected of you, Mioda."

"Heehee! Rule number one of Ibuki is Ibuki is always full of surprises. Byakuya-chan should always remember that!" As she spoke, Ibuki set the tray down, sat down next to it, broke her chopsticks apart, and picked up one of the styrofoam cups. "Time to eat-"

"Hold on," Togami said. "Take one of the other ones."

"Huh?" Mioda immediately set the cup down and picked up another. "Why?"

"That's all I needed to see. It's alright, Hinata, they're not poisoned." Togami sat down and took the bowl Mioda had been about to take, but waited until Mioda had eaten before diving into his.

"Really, Togami?" Hinata sat down between them, and picked up the remaining cup. "Why would anyone ever do that?"

Mioda laughed. "Thorough and careful about everything! Just as I expected from Byakuya-chan!"

Togami had a mouth full of noodles and thus could not reply, but his eyes went wide at Mioda's words. Hinata knew he needed to pick up the slack. "Come to think of it…why are you doing this at all? You didn't really need to…"

"Oh, right, that's the other thing!" Mioda pointed skyward. "Hajime-chan! I'm taking your shift!"

"Taking my shift?" Hinata picked up some noodles. "Wait – why?"

Togami swallowed. "Yes, why?"

"Well, Hajime-chan said he was sleepy, right?" Mioda grinned. "Ibuki had a five hour nap today! She's so awake she's not even blinking!"

"That's nice, I guess, but I'm not _that _tired." Hinata tasted the noodles experimentally; they tasted like every other bowl of instant noodles he'd ever had. "You don't really need to."

"But..." Mioda bit her lip. "But Ibuki was so excited about this she just couldn't wait! I-"

"I didn't mean you had to argue," Hinata said. "It's okay, you can take it."

"She can?" Togami stopped his next mouthful of noodles halfway to his mouth. "Are you sure?"

"Yes he is! Isn't he, Hajime-chan?" Mioda winked at Hinata, then winked again. Hinata wasn't entirely sure what to make of that, but he did nod. "See?" Mioda turned to look at Togami with an expression of delight. "He is! So can Ibuki stay here? Tonight? Maybe?"

Hinata wasn't entirely sure how to read Togami's expression at first – was that bewilderment? But then his familiar smirk returned. "Well…you're quite enthusiastic about this, aren't you? Very well. Hinata, you will join Pekoyama tomorrow morning."

"Eeeyeas!" Mioda jumped up. "You hear that, Hajime-chan? Get to bed right this instant!"

"Okay," Hinata said, "Just as soon as I finish-"

"Ibuki said right now! Why are you still here?" Mioda knelt down and pushed against Hinata's back.

"Alright, alright, I'm going…" Hinata stood, taking his noodles with him. "Uh…stay out of trouble, okay?" He wasn't entirely sure why he said that.

"Hmmmm, maybe!" Mioda winked again. "Go away, Hajime-chan!"

"G'night," Hinata called back as he walked down the path to the bridge. He could hear Mioda's voice behind him, but not what she was saying, and soon even the sound was lost to him.

* * *

I swear that'll be the only Nidai poop joke I'm sorry I just needed to. Up next, more Chapter 2!

- Carth


	4. Chapter Two, Part Two

Hello again! So this is the first half of what was originally going to be one chapter. But it was getting much longer than I'd intended, so I think it'd be better stylistically if it were split. I'm almost done with the second part, but for the sake of building up a bit of a backlog I will post Part 2 in three days.

* * *

**Chapter Two, Part Two**

_komaeda theater_

_"Luck is in its nature adversarial, Hinata-kun. If I were a gambling man, and I won an enormous amount of money, wouldn't my good luck spell bad luck for everyone I was playing with, as well as the establishment that would be losing money on me? When one person benefits, doesn't everyone else have to suffer? With my talent I've learned that again and again, though I won't bore you with the details._

_"But more on point, it must be fortunate for many that I died and you didn't, isn't it? Your talent could be world-changing. It could elevate you to the status of a god. But what can my luck do for anyone but hurt them, or act beneath their notice? The world's won it all, Hinata-kun. It's lost me, but it gets to keep you._

_Of course, that's how I'd like it to be. But the truth is much different. I'm Super High School Level Good Luck. I'm always going to win, even if an ultimate win means the exchange of an ultimate loss. And a split second's difference between two wildly different decisions isn't good or bad luck in and of itself. It's just a spiral into a different kind of good or bad luck._

_You just have to wait until things are played out to decide what kind of luck it must have been. Sometimes that might even mean waiting until long after you die."_

* * *

Hinata woke to a dark room and a loud knock on his door – which must have startled him awake, given the cold sweat he felt. He grumbled that he was coming, then got up, threw on a shirt, and answered the door without flipping on the light.

He honestly didn't know how he looked, but he couldn't help but feel self-conscious when he saw the look Pekoyama was giving him. "Um..." He bit his lip. "Morning?"

"Indeed." Pekoyama looked, as ever, perfectly put together, though she was quite determinedly looking at his face and not anywhere else. She unfolded a piece of paper that she held in her hands and held it up. "I found this under my door when I was leaving for the central island. Is this correct?"

Hinata had to blink several times before he could see the note clearly. It read: _Pekoyama, Hinata will be joining you this morning instead of Mioda. – Togami. _"Oh – yeah, that's right. Mioda took my shift last night."

Pekoyama crumpled the paper. "I see. It's 5:45. Nidai and Owari will be expecting us." She stole a quick glance down, then looked away, blushing. "Will you need long to put on your pants?"

"Ack- no, sorry," Hinata said quickly before shutting the door. He pulled on the first pair of pants he could find, shoved his shoes on, and joined Pekoyama outside without tying them.

The two of them walked to the central island in silence. Pekoyama seemed perfectly content not talking to Hinata, and Hinata didn't have anything to say he was sure she'd be interested in hearing – at least until they got to the central island, where they found something to talk about in the form of Owari and Nidai violently sparring in front of the countdown clock. After laughing at them for being shocked, Nidai told them that all had gone well and that there had been no disturbances during the night. Owari corrected him – Monobear had shown up around 3 AM, mocking them before telling them that no one would ever know if they played the game. Togami and Mioda had reported the same thing to them, and they had, of course, brushed him off.

And with that they left Hinata and Pekoyama alone and headed back to bed. Hinata leaned against the pedestal again, and Pekoyama stood nearby, her braids blowing slightly in the breeze. There was silence for an unimaginably long time. Soon Pekoyama began to fidget, then shifted from one foot to the other, then, finally, she turned to face him. "Hinata…"

Hinata shook himself awake. "Uh, yes?"

"Forgive me, but I can't get this out of my mind." Pekoyama gritted her teeth. "You don't think Nidai actually…pooped anywhere around here, do you?"

"_What_?! Oh, right, because …." Hinata shifted his eyes, but saw no signs of freshly turned earth. "I think it was just a joke, Pekoyama…"

"Right, right…ha…ha ha…" She smiled and Hinata immediately wished she hadn't, but he couldn't help but smile back. For a while they tried to hold back the laughter that was coming, but then Hinata sputtered and doubled over and Pekoyama didn't take too long to give in after that.

It was stupid, they both knew, but it did the job of breaking the ice between them. The common topics– the ruins, the World Destroyers – went fast, though the especially sensitive ones were never touched. Hinata tried to ask about kendo, but found her oddly tight-lipped on that and other personal subjects, and she never really returned with questions about his own past. From there it wasn't a conversation as much as it was a trade of one-liners every so often – not comfortable, but not closed.

Monobear's morning announcement went off at seven, and not long after Monobear himself showed up, as promised. He followed the same general script Owari had laid out – he mocked them for delaying the inevitable, then told them that even as they spoke the others were heading to breakfast, and they didn't have much time if they wanted to play. They refused several times, leading Monobear to screech in annoyance. "None of you are any fun!" he shouted before popping off again.

Half an hour later Nanami delivered their breakfast; she stared longingly at the game console for a time before heading back the way she came. They didn't have time to begin eating before Togami appeared and demanded to know everything that had happened thus far, which didn't take long to tell. He informed them that nothing of importance had happened at breakfast, then reminded them of the importance of their vigil. Hinata asked him how the previous night had gone, and Togami stood stiffly for a second before saying that he had important business to do and took off for the second island.

For the next hour there was a slow trickle of people headed the same way. Kuzuryuu spent a good amount of time making fun of Hinata, though he didn't say a word to Pekoyama. Tanaka offered to construct a protective magic circle around the game console, which there seemed to be no harm in until he said that the contract had to be sealed with a blood offering. Seeing Tsumiki passing by he demanded one from her, which to their surprise she agreed to, but Pekoyama kicked them out before anyone could actually draw blood, which Hinata saw to be for the best.

Then there was a period of relative quiet. Hinata was sure the shift change time must be coming closer, but his only sense of time was the Monobear announcement, and how long had it actually been? He was just debating whether or not to ask Pekoyama whether she had a watch when, to his surprise, Pekoyama took a few steps towards him. "Hinata, do you happen to know what time it is?"

"No, sorry," Hinata shrugged. "Honestly, I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"I see." Pekoyama turned away. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not impatient. I was simply curious."

"It's fine, either way," Hinata said. "I guess we'll know when Togami and Mioda show up."

"I suppose. Why did you switch times with Mioda, anyway?"

"You know, I'm not entirely sure. She just kind of showed up last night and kicked me out." He shrugged again. "She said she was excited to start."

"That's not something people are often excited for, especially where it involves spending that much time with Togami. But I suppose there's no accounting for taste."

"Do you…not like him?" Hinata remembered the spectacle in the lodge office, and found himself unsurprised.

"He is well-intentioned. But I find he tends to jump to conclusions too quickly." Pekoyama folded her arms. "But whatever my personal opinion may be, that does not affect our situation or my position as a capable guard. Mioda's coming, incidentally."

"Huh? How can you tell?" Hinata stood and looked down the path, and heard quick, but uneven footsteps coming closer. Only a few seconds after that Mioda came into view, alternately skipping and hopping on one foot.

"Ha-ha!" she called out as she zigzagged down the path, just barely keeping her balance. "To reach the central island you must not only walk this way, but walk_ this_ way! All other ways will get you sent back to the beginning! Hup!"

She stopped in front of them with one leg in the air and a wide grin. Pekoyama stood stunned, but Hinata clapped involuntarily. "Mioda," he said, "is it time to change shifts already?"

"Nope!" Mioda pushed her leg against the pedestal and made exaggerated stretching motions. "Not for another half an hour!"

"Half an hour?" Pekoyama raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so early?"

"Ibuki was impatient!" Mioda flipped her leg down and leaned one arm against the pedestal. "Ibuki tried counting backwards from infinity but that didn't make time go any faster. Oops, that was because Ibuki didn't know where to begin!"

"Impatient to begin your shift?" Hinata tried not to sound too surprised.

"Yes! Well…maybe…" Mioda bounced back and paced back and forth for a moment. "Yes! Yes absolutely!"

Pekoyama tapped a finger on her chin, then looked up. "Mioda, Togami hasn't returned from the second island yet. You might be able to-"

"Gnaaaaaahhh!" Mioda shook her head rapidly. "No! That's not how it works!"

"Not how it works?" Pekoyama raised an eyebrow.

"Wait," Hinata said, "Not how what works?"

"The form is as important as the encounter itself!" Mioda shouted, thrusting her finger skyward. "Wherever you are, that'll mean you'll do something that has to do with whatever's there, isn't it? But the most perfect form is two people alone together for hours and hours with nothing else to do! No distractions whatsoever! You have no choice but to cling tightly to one another!" Mioda put her hands on her hips. "But what do I mean by that? Hmmmmmmmmmm!"

Hinata and Pekoyama looked at each other, then back at Mioda. "Uh…"

"For example!" Mioda interrupted. "Last night, when Ibuki was with Byakuya-chan, neither of us knew what to say at first! Typical, right? But eventually Byakuya-chan says "Mioda, are you scared? Is there anything you're concerned about?" And Ibuki says "Nothing! Nothing at all! Okay Ibuki lied, maybe a little, but with Ibuki and Byakuya-chan on duty, then it's nothing!" So Byakuya-chan says, "Exactly. You have no reason to fear. As long as I am here you will never be in any danger!'" Mioda rocked back and forth on her heels. "Gnaaaaaaah! That's so COOL!"

Hinata's mouth fell open slightly. "Well, it sounds like you had a good time…"

"But that's only the beginning!" Mioda went on. "After that we didn't know what to say again, but this time we were determined! So Ibuki asked Byakuya-chan, tell me about your most favorite thing in the whole world! And he said that was meats!"

"_Meats_?" Hinata recalled having a similar conversation with Togami at one point, but did not care to share this information.

"Meats! So Ibuki said, tell Ibuki all about the meats! So Byakuya-chan did! He told Ibuki about all the meats there ever were!" Mioda stopped, then grinned. "Well, maybe not _all _the meats…but then we still had half an hour left. So Byakuya-chan asked Ibuki, what's your most favorite thing? So Ibuki told Byakuya-chan the entire history of punk rock!"

"In…thirty minutes?" Pekoyama said.

"Ibuki went really really fast!" Mioda said. "But she still isn't done! She needs to finish today even if she goes at super hyper speed! Do Peko-chan and Hajime-chan understand? Punk rock is very important!"

Hinata was pretty sure he understood more than Mioda had intended to let on. "Well, sure," he said. "But are you saying-"

"I see we're all very focused." Hinata jumped – Togami was standing right behind him. Though his arms were folded and his tone had been harsh, he didn't look like he was in any way bothered.

"Togami," Hinata said. "You're here to take over?"

"It would appear so." Togami nodded. "Nothing else suspicious happened, correct?"

"Nope!" Mioda winked. "Ibuki did not do a single suspicious thing yet!"

"If you mean there were no threats to the game, that is correct," Pekoyama said.

"Then that is what matters." He stood awkwardly for a moment, then gave a small chuckle. "Go. Both of you, get some rest. I expect you back here at six this evening."

"Understood." Peko immediately turned and walked away, while Hinata took the time to say some goodbyes. Mioda waved enthusiastically, while Togami nodded and assumed his attentive position. As Hinata walked he turned some of what he'd heard over in his mind – the thought of Mioda bombarding Togami with the entire history of punk rock was too funny to let go of – but soon the idea of a morning shower dominated his thoughts.

* * *

Compared to his morning, the rest of Hinata's day was relatively carefree, and almost – could he even say this in such a situation? – fun. He explored the second island a little more thoroughly, and took a look around Chandler Beach for the first time. Occasionally he would run into the others, and when he did they had pleasant conversations. No one spoke of the ruins, or the World Destroyers, or Komaeda and Hanamura, and Hinata only realized this when he passed the lodge and realized how long it had been since anyone had approached it.

That evening, Hinata and Pekoyama went back on shift again. They had somewhat more company than before; Souda hung out with them for about half an hour, and Nanami told them all about the previous games in the Twilight Syndrome franchise, which all sounded quite engaging. Even when Hinata and Pekoyama were alone their conversation went much more smoothly, and before they knew it the Night Time announcement went off. Monobear showed up immediately afterward, saying that he had entirely forgotten to pressure them to play, but they ignored him entirely and headed back for the cottages, leaving Mioda and Togami behind to continue their conversation about punk rock.

* * *

_komaeda theater_

_"Hey gang! What are you guys up to? Hanging out? Having fun? Oh, that's nice. Remember when we used to do that? No? _

_"Oh, you don't want to hear me air my grievances about that again, do you? Wait, grievances? What kind of a word is that? It's something a spoiled brat who's never known suffering might use. I must seem entirely too self-important to you, don't I? Maybe you'd like to show me my place? I bet you would._

_"No, no… no, I was about to say I didn't mean any of that, but at this point I don't know myself. If anything, this is proof that my plan is working. Your hope is propelling you forward, and all thanks to me! How lucky I should really consider myself to be! _

_"At least, that's what I'd like to believe. Everything could always change in a heartbeat."_

* * *

There were two major consequences to Hinata's given shift times – he missed mealtime gatherings in the morning and evening, and saw Togami far less often than before. This did feel odd to him, as he didn't think that was the case with Owari, Nidai, or Mioda, but that might have been because they were much more talkative during shift changes.

There was only one period where Hinata and Togami were free and awake at the same time – 2 P.M. to 6 P.M. Hinata didn't completely intend to run into him, though the thought had been in the back of his mind. He was taking a late lunch when Togami happened to come in, presumably fresh off his shift; the restaurant was deserted otherwise.

At first he didn't seem to see him, but when he was halfway to the food tables Hinata figured he'd better not be a stranger. "Uh, Togami," he said.

"Hinata!" Togami turned quickly on his heels. He looked to be on edge, but relaxed quickly. "I didn't see you."

"Ah – sorry." Hinata stood from his seat.

"'Sorry'? What's with that kind of response?" He folded his arms, but did not move any closer to Hinata or the food. "Never say that again, unless it's demanded of you. You sound like a coward when you do."

"Wait, I wasn't really apologizing for being here," Hinata said. "Just for sca-"

"It looks like I'll be joining you," Togami interrupted. He turned for the food tables and took a plate. "An unusual event, lately, it seems."

"I was just thinking that." Hinata looked self-consciously at his own empty plate. "But it's been…busy."

"You say that as though it's a bad thing." Togami smirked. "Our work has successfully protected everyone on this island, Hinata. When we leave here, everyone will remember our sacrifices."

"I hope so," Hinata said. As he spoke, Togami took his plate and headed for Hinata's table. He set his plate at a seat across from Hinata and sat down, but did not touch his food.

"There is something I've been wondering," he said.

"Hm?"

"Even with the successes we have had so far, we cannot consider that guarding the game will solve everything." He put a hand to his chin. "In your interactions with the others, have you noticed any unusual or suspicious behavior?"

"Suspicious behavior?" Hinata furrowed his brow. "Not any more than usual, but –"

"What do you mean?" Togami said quickly. "Explain more thoroughly."

"I don't really need to. I mean, they're acting like themselves, which may seem weird to some people." He paused. "Are you asking me if they're acting like they might kill someone?"

"I thought that was clear from the beginning. Honestly, Hinata, I expected better of you."

In all honesty Hinata had expected better of himself – he'd known this was coming, thanks to Nanami. He'd spent the morning losing track of time with her in the library, along with Sonia and Souda. Between failed attempts at getting Sonia's attention, Souda had gotten him caught up with current events - nothing new as far as escape had been found, Monobear and Monomi had been relatively quiet, and Togami had, once again, been wandering the islands and not heavily interacting with anyone.

Except, Nanami added, he'd pulled her aside after breakfast and asked her whether any of the others had been, quote, "acting suspiciously" or "talking about the game". Sonia supported this story, and though she hadn't and swore up and down she'd told the truth, she said that he'd had a look in his eyes as though he didn't entirely believe her.

"Well, either way, the answer's no," Hinata said. "It's been pretty quiet."

"I see." Togami looked at him another moment, carrying his attention as though he were about to say something else, then directed his attention to his food. Hinata went back to his own, and they ate in silence.

He desperately wanted to talk, he knew. He just didn't know where to start. There was so much he wanted to ask, and yet so much he wasn't sure he could access. He had seen patterns of behavior begin to develop, a shift between a Togami projected to everyone as a group and another Togami, a Togami that didn't seem to fit with the first, one that came out in fits and starts as if slipping through cracks. He had seen a piece of this Togami in the kitchen before the party with the talk of his past, but ever since Komaeda's death that particular piece had withdrawn from his reach.

It wasn't his responsibility to make these moments happen, he knew. Nor was it in his best interest. But he couldn't help but wonder about rhyme and reason, about what input led to what outcomes. Could he just start a casual conversation? Was this something of which Togami was even capable?

He had to try, he knew. He could think of a thousand ways to cleverly introduce what was on his mind, but he knew he had to be discreet. "So," he said. "How are your shifts going?"

Togami looked surprised for a moment, but then nodded. "Successful," he said. "We've discussed this."

Perhaps _too _discreet, he thought. "It makes a lot of time to fill, though," he said. "And Pekoyama's not always that talkative. But that's never really a problem."

Togami's eyes went wide. There we go, Hinata thought. "Pekoyama is loyal and attentive. It makes her very effective. Mioda's effectiveness…takes other forms."

"You probably never run out of things to talk about."

Togami's hand flew over his mouth. "Not yet," he said eventually.

"She, ah, always seems really excited to talk to you."

"Really? Is that…" Togami pressed his hand closer, and didn't say anything for a time. Then he removed it, and smirked. "Heh. Her appreciation is wise. Ordinarily I would call her behavior frivolous… but as long as the time cannot be used for anything else there is no harm in keeping her mind off other things."

"That's an interesting way to look at it," Hinata said. "Well, what I mean is…I don't think there's any harm in relaxing a little sometimes."

"That attitude is something I've had to accept I can't change about commoners," Togami said. "They necessitate distractions in order to function even at the lowest levels."

"I think everyone's doing the best they can," Hinata said.

"They are. I agree." Togami looked down at his food. "It will work, won't it?"

"Will what work?"

"It has to. There can't be another murder. There won't be." Togami turned to face Hinata. "You must do everything in your power to make sure of that. Do you understand?"

"Er," Hinata said.

"I have a great deal of faith in you, Hinata." Hinata didn't know how to respond to that. "Our responsibilities are great. If we let them overwhelm us, nothing can be accomplished."

Hinata remembered the pool, the diner, the bags under Togami's eyes – but only for a second. "I know," he said. "I'll do my best."

"We're succeeding. Remember that." He looked over at Hinata's plate. "You haven't finished."

"Oh-" Hinata moved his food around his plate self-consciously. "I was talking to you, I couldn't really-"

"Are you eating enough, Hinata?" Hinata was startled by the look of concern on his face. "I just said you can't let stress overcome you. The work we have before us requires strength." He took a large bite between sentences. "For the sake of everyone else, you must be prepared!"

"I, er, appreciate that, but I'm fine, really. I eat as much as I want or need." Hinata stood. "I should go. I promised Nanami…"

He really had promised to meet Nanami later, but it was incredibly obvious that Togami at least suspected that he was lying. "Very well," he said. "Do not forget what I have said."

* * *

Hinata didn't know why his mind went back to this conversation when Koizumi appeared on his evening shift.

He saw her coming from a distance, but she stopped many times on the road, as if hesitating. Pekoyama was examining the game console and hadn't seen her; Hinata took initiative in her stead. "Koizumi!" he called.

"Oh!" Koizumi, apparently accepting her fate, stood up straighter and walked toward them more briskly. "Hinata, Peko-chan."

"It's rather late, Koizumi," Pekoyama said, looking up. "Is everything alright?"

"Sure, everything's fine." Koizumi looked from Pekoyama, over to the game, back at Pekoyama. "Well…actually I'm not sure."

"Not sure?" Hinata said.

"You guys are around this game all the time, so I need to know. How dangerous do you think it really is?"

Pekoyama's eyes widened. "We have no way of knowing, Koizumi…"

"I know. But I just can't stop thinking about it. If it really is that dangerous…if it could make us kill someone…what could it possibly be?" Her eyes narrowed. "Tell me the truth. Has anyone played it?"

Hinata and Pekoyama looked at each other. "No," they said in unison.

"Not that I know of, anyway," Hinata added.

"Okay. I just…" She shook her head angrily. "I just can't stand it, you know? Being manipulated like this. If we were really looking to defeat this game, shouldn't we be a little more proactive about it? Smash it to bits, maybe?"

"Nidai and Owari already tried that," Hinata said. "What was it Monobear said… "I poured my heart and soul into that game! If you attack this game it would be as if you're attacking me – and you'll be punished accordingly!""

Pekoyama gave him an odd look – he knew he shouldn't have tried to imitate Monobear's voice – but Koizumi looked deadly serious. "Of course. Why should I expect anything different?"

"Well, I don't think you have anything to worry about," Pekoyama said. "The game is well guarded."

"Maybe. I know you're doing a good job, anyway." Koizumi smiled at Pekoyama. "Oh, and before I forget, Peko-chan, I have something I need to ask you!" She turned and pointed towards the trees. "Hinata, go stand over there."

"Huh?" Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me!"

Hinata shrugged and headed for the trees. Once he was there, Pekoyama and Koizumi talked enthusiastically for about fifteen minutes before Koizumi left, waving goodbye in her wake. Once she was out of sight, Hinata re-approached Pekoyama with caution. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Koizumi explicitly told me not to tell you," Pekoyama said. "Or rather, not to tell any of the boys."

"That's not that surprising." Hinata leaned against the pedestal.

"She did tell me not to tell Togami that she was here. I suppose I can share that." Pekoyama paced in front of the game. "I should have asked her the time. I'm sure Mioda will be here soon."

* * *

_komaeda theater_

_"The theme for tonight is "the buildup of meaning over long periods of time." What does that mean? Well, when I was in elementary school, I was cutting across an empty lot on my way back to where I was living at the time when I saw a woman who was looking frantically all around her car. She said she'd dropped her keys. I offered to help her, and we looked for a very long time, but found nothing. I was kind of a foolish child, so I wandered out into the road to look there. The woman saw me just in time and pulled me away, but she wasn't quick enough to save herself from the oncoming vehicle._

_Well, that's not quite the right way to put it. She did live! And as I was waiting in the lobby – the paramedics had mistaken me for her son and I just kind of went with it – what do I see outside in the hall, but a ring of keys! They were indeed the woman's. It seemed she had just been visiting a sick coworker. But if she'd never gotten injured, would she ever have seen them again? I admit, it's not something I like to think about a lot. The injury, I mean. _

_"But five years later, when I was accepted into Hope's Peak Academy, whose name do I see on the bottom of my letter but this woman's! Not only was she a member of the Hope's Peak admissions committee, but she was one of the strongest supporters of the Good Luck student initiative! But does this mean anything, in terms of good or bad luck? _

_"Honestly, I've never been able to figure that out. Is it possible for there to be luck that has no alignment at all, that's simply coincidence that's neither good nor evil? There's no way this woman could have remembered me, after all, or that our connection affected my acceptance. I did have it in mind to find her, but she's quite a distance away, isn't she? I wonder if she'll be sad to hear of my death, if she ever does."_

* * *

Hinata's eyes snapped open at the sound of the Monobear announcement – but immediately he realized that that was not what was supposed to be waking him. This actually relaxed him somewhat, and he lingered in bed for a few moments before getting up, because if he was already this late, he could stand to be later.

The first thing he noticed once he did get up was the paper that had been slid under his door. Rubbing his eyes, he walked over and picked it up. It read: _Hinata, due to certain plans in place, I will be on guard with Mioda this morning. You will join Owari at 10 am. Further plans will be discussed afterward. – Pekoyama _

It didn't entirely occur to Hinata to be curious about why this was the case. In fact, he was just turning around to climb back into bed for a little while longer when he heard a loud knock on his door. For a second he thought the letter might have been a prank, and that Pekoyama was just about to come and beat his ass – and then Togami started talking from outside. "Hinata!" he shouted. "Hinata, are you awake?"

"Togami?" Hinata knew what was coming – he dropped the letter and headed to where he'd thrown his clothes. "Yeah – just a second!"

"Make it faster than that," Togami said. "Did you get a letter from Pekoyama?"

"Yeah, I just did." Hinata buttoned his shirt with some attempt at speed. "Why?"

"We need to go to the central island immediately. Are you quite finished?"

"I am now," Hinata said, as he had opened the door while Togami had been speaking. "Look, I don't really understand-"

"You will." Togami began walking, and Hinata practically had to run in order to keep up. In no time at all they reached the central island, where Pekoyama stood guard while Mioda wandered around, throwing rocks.

She was the first to notice them, just short of throwing a rock at them. "Weeh? Byakuya-chan? Hajime-chan?" She threw the rock behind her back. "Is breakfast over already?"

"It hasn't started." Togami walked past Mioda, approached Pekoyama, and thrust the note out in front of her. "Pekoyama, what is the meaning of this?"

Pekoyama looked at the note, then up at Togami. "Are you asking me why I wrote that note, or what it's supposed to communicate?"

"I think you know."

"Very well," Pekoyama said. "I was told to keep this secret, but I don't entirely see how that's possible in this situation. Plans have been made for this afternoon which involve all the girls being available. At least one girl is on duty at any given time, so I was told to shift the schedule so that only the boys would be on duty this afternoon. Given Mioda's shift in groups I assumed this wouldn't be a problem."

"It's not a problem at all. Or it wouldn't have been, if you'd told me beforehand." Togami crumpled the note in his hands.

Pekoyama sighed. "I was given instructions, which I then carried out. I didn't make these plans."

"We're all going to the beach!" Mioda added. Clearly, Hinata thought, she'd missed the memo about this being a secret. "Ibuki'd invite you guys but Mahiru-chan said no boys allowed a heck of a lot!"

Togami's eyes went wide at the mention of Koizumi's name. "I don't think there's much there I'd be missing, Mioda," he said, trying to re-adjust his face. "Like I said, this isn't a problem. And you've done nothing wrong, either of you. The plans can stand for now. Come, Hinata. Koizumi should be heading to breakfast about now."

Pekoyama looked over at Hinata, who shrugged in a desperate attempt to communicate that he wasn't entirely in on Togami's plan. "And just what do you plan on doing?" she said.

"I think I'd like to know that too," Hinata interjected.

"It's alright. There's no need to panic. You'll see." Togami strode back up the path to the first island. Pekoyama gave Hinata another look, and he mouthed "I'll keep an eye on him" before following after him, though he wasn't sure his presence was all that reassuring to her.

Back on the first island, everyone else was just heading for the restaurant. They passed Sonia and Nidai on the way to the cottages – both of them looked very surprised to see Hinata so early in the morning, but Togami barreled by them before Hinata could explain himself. All too soon he spotted Koizumi leaving the cottage area with Saionji, and headed for them with a stony expression on his face. Hinata, wisely, kept his distance. "Koizumi!" he called.

Saionji heard him first. "Hey, Porkfeet at ten o'clock," she said without bothering to modulate her voice.

"Huh?" Koizumi stopped short, then threw her hands on her hips. "What is it, Togami?"

"Listen," Togami said as he approached. He spoke more calmly than Hinata had expected. "I have no problems with you making plans. Not even with you changing the group order to accommodate those plans. But why was it necessary to make a point of not informing me of this before carrying it out?"

"What are you talking about?" Koizumi said. "Who told you?"

"Snitches get stitches!" Saionji interjected.

"Once again, I don't see the importance of this secrecy," Togami said. "It was not possible for Pekoyama to rearrange the schedule without informing me at least of your plans. She said so herself."

"Okay, fine. But you just said you didn't have a problem." Koizumi tilted her head upward, so she could glare at Togami more properly. "So it sounds more like you just want an excuse to talk down to me again."

"Is that what this is to you, then? A power play?" Togami laughed. "There's no reason for it to be. I am merely cautioning you to inform me next time, especially if you are going to arrange such a large gathering. The unstable are drawn to such spectacles, and if you don't take the necessary precautions-"

"Wait – what are you implying?" Koizumi's eyes went wide. "Why would any of us do anything like that?"

"I'm not implying anything about anyone." A heavy tone entered Togami's voice. "I'm simply making sure you remember that there's a precedent of such things occurring, and that no matter what you may think of someone, you don't know what_ they're _thinking."

"That's not news to me," Koizumi said. "But since I actually _talk _to the people on this island, I think I know them better than you do, especially the girls involved. And I think we've learned a thing or two from Komaeda and Hanamura's mistakes."

"Besides," Saionji said, "just because your party was a disaster doesn't mean Big Sis Koizumi's is going to be."

"Hey, guys…" Hinata held up a hand, but he wasn't entirely sure how to back up his remark. Koizumi gave him a look, but Togami didn't react to his words at all – Hinata couldn't tell whether he looked angry or distressed. He moved closer to Koizumi, and extended a hand that seemed to be heading for her shoulder. "Koizumi, I don't-"

"Don't touch me!" Koizumi pushed Togami's hand away, and he pulled it right back to his side. "Just – keep your nose out of my business, okay? Keeping us safe doesn't mean controlling everything we do!" She turned on him. "Let's go, Hiyoko-chan."

Koizumi took Saionji by the hand, and they headed for the restaurant. Hinata took a few steps closer to Togami, who was looking after them. He still had that same expression, but now Hinata was sure it looked more like distress. "They'll be fine," he said suddenly. "They'll be fine."

Hinata wasn't entirely sure how to respond. "Look," he said, "I've told you, Koizumi's kind of-"

"I know what you think of Koizumi," Togami said. "I'm going back to my cottage for a while, Hinata. You should go ahead to breakfast." He turned and walked away without waiting for a response, his gait far slower than it had been before.

* * *

Hinata wasn't sure whether everyone else felt tense that day, or whether it was just him. Owari certainly didn't – she spent the four hours either telling him about her terrible home life or challenging him to fights, which, by the time shift change came around, he was worried he was about to accept.

But then Nidai showed up, along with Souda, against all reason. He didn't plan to watch the game, he said – he just didn't have anything else to do. But when he was followed by a long succession of girls, his motivation became clear. Koizumi, Saionji, and Tsumiki were walking together; all were at the moment fully clothed, but when Owari saw them she ripped off her clothes, revealing a bikini underneath, and ran after them, leaving said clothes behind.

Nidai laughed, and Souda nudged him in the ribs and said he couldn't wait for Sonia-san to arrive, but mostly this all made Hinata feel very uncomfortable, though he couldn't help but go red in the face when Nanami showed up in a bikini and stopped to chat. Mioda, also in a bikini, was next, and Hinata noticed that she remained, even after Nanami had left with Pekoyama, until Togami showed up.

At that point Hinata had no obligation to stay, and so he did not. He greeted Sonia politely as he passed her, though once she was gone he couldn't help but laugh at Souda's expense when he saw what she was wearing.

He was supposed to go back and relieve Nidai at six – Togami had agreed to a double shift – but until then he was strapped for things to do. The only people left on the first island were Kuzuryuu and Tanaka; Kuzuryuu was scarce as usual, so to pass the time Hinata tracked Tanaka down. After working through several refusals, wherein Tanaka insisted again and again that his presence was toxic to mortals, they did spend a solid half an hour playing with the Four Dark Gods of Destruction at the Usami Corral.

At that point Souda passed by in tears; upon confrontation he explained that he had not been allowed to attend the all-girls' swim. Hinata rolled his eyes, but let him join them out of sympathy. Monomi showed up not long after, wondering where everyone had gone; they directed her to the beach, and to their relief she vanished six they parted ways, and Hinata headed back to the central island. Nidai handed the watch off to him with a high five, and he went to sit at his usual spot, while Togami still stood in his.

Togami didn't seem to notice him for some time, not even after Hinata greeted him, but then, entirely unbidden, he spoke. "Hinata, I believe I gave you incorrect information yesterday. Or rather, an inaccurate conception."

"Huh? I don't get what you're referring to."

"I believed that the frivolous actions of our classmates were a coping mechanism. A way to strengthen themselves in order to confront the issues before us at a more convenient time. Now I'm…beginning to think that they may not, in fact, be worried about these issues at all."

Togami looked quite surprised at his own words, but Hinata couldn't do much more than shrug. "I guess it's just hard to conceptualize," he said. "It's so out there, it doesn't feel real. So right now, no one's really acting like it exists."

"But is that a good thing? Is it a sign of victory, or is it letting our guard down?"

"I'd like to think it's the first one."

"Wouldn't we all. Feh. It doesn't matter." He rubbed his chin. "Nidai, for instance. During our shift today he said he'd been observing my 'physical abilities', and in his words, wanted to know what I was capable of. At first I was quite confused, but it was clear that this was important to him. So I sparred with him briefly, and he did seem impressed. Do you think that means he respects me?"

Hinata was having trouble getting over the fact that he'd heard this story at all. "Uh."

"And Mioda." Togami sounded frantic. "There's…there's been no end to the things she's been trying to get me to do. It's as though she never takes her attention off of me for a second…" He looked back at Hinata. "Tell me the truth, Hinata. If I were more like Nidai, or Mioda, or anyone really, would I, generally, be more well-respected?"

"I…think you're fine just the way you are." Hinata wondered if, eventually, Togami might name more specific names, but he did not dare say them himself.

"You always answer so safely." Togami laughed a very small laugh. "Hold that thought. I think I hear the girls coming."

And so they were. For all the secrecy Koizumi had enforced, going was just as noisy an affair as coming. Mioda was the first to arrive, dragging Tsumiki in her wake. Mioda bounded right over to Togami and began speaking a mile a minute – "And then we had a breath holding contest and Hiyoko-chan won but Ibuki thinks Hiyoko-chan cheated and she can't even swim so she wasn't even underwater so how do we even know?" Tsumiki stood with her hands across her swimsuit, whimpering and looking back and forth at Hinata.

Next were Pekoyama, Owari, and Sonia, who helpfully had a towel for Tsumiki. Pekoyama and Owari exchanged only goodbyes, but Sonia briefly took Togami's attention and had a short conversation that Hinata could barely understand. Then they left, with Tsumiki in tow. Mioda immediately resumed talking – "And then we went back to the beach house and we had secret conversations so secret not even Byakuya-chan can know what we said! Hmmmmmm, but can Byakuya-chan guess what we talked about? Ibuki wonders if he can!" – which, by Hinata's estimation, Togami didn't seem to mind, though he wasn't quite sure as he hadn't yet gotten a word in edgewise.

Then came Nanami, who was, to Hinata's surprise, walking next to Monomi. They gave Hinata and Togami brief greetings before moving on. Finally, Koizumi and Saionji were the last to come through, which they did together, saying nothing to any of them as they passed.

* * *

Hinata lay awake just a little later than usual that night, and, perhaps as a direct result, he thought of Komaeda again.

He'd been dead for five days, and yet the time he'd spent with him felt like another lifetime. Yesterday he'd had had a sudden but brief thought of him, and asked Pekoyama if she, too, had had any of those kinds of thoughts, which he was embarrassed to find she had not. But this wasn't like that thought – it was sustained, and it traveled on a path from one memory to another. He'd almost thought he'd forgotten Komaeda's face, and yet there it was vivid as ever. He wondered what he was trying to find in it. Clues? Answers? Answers to what? It frustrated him, to be drawn to something and yet not know what he was looking for.

He did not think of Hanamura, not until he was almost asleep and it occurred to him that he hadn't. But then his thoughts dissolved. He didn't know whether Komaeda remained, but he had the vague feeling that he did.

* * *

See you in three days!

- Carth


	5. Chapter Two, Part Three

And now here is Part 2! Yeah, this definitely needed to be its own chapter.

I know there's a divide between people who don't want to be spoiled and people who want to be warned, so I shall offer this which you can read backwards if you want: redrum a sereht.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Two, Part Three**

_komaeda theater_

_"I never wanted any of them to suffer. And I wanted them to know that. I could never entirely explain what I was trying to do, no matter how many times I tried. The language I spoke, and the language they spoke, they slid through each other and each side came out saying something different than what they'd meant._

_"And that's why I can never explain myself. Why you'll always react with fear. Why my words bounce off your mind without ever entering."_

* * *

Hinata had been wondering when he could have a conversation with Togami that didn't make a sort of ambiguous space in his chest that felt like it might be his soul hurt, but he hadn't expected to find success so soon.

"Sonia came around a lot this morning," he said to him as they approached the bridge to the central island. They hadn't planned to walk together to their next shift – it had just kind of happened. "I couldn't understand half of what you were saying, but she sounded excited."

"Heh. That would be French you heard." Togami smirked. "I encountered her in the library the other day, and after a short conversation I lent her a book of my own I thought she might like."

"I remember her saying she talked to you a few days ago," Hinata said, though Sonia had not shared this side of their meeting. "A French book? What was it?"

"_The Vicomte of Bragelonne, _by the nineteenth-century novelist Alexandre Dumas. You may have heard of its third volume, _The Man In The Iron Mask._"

"Uh."

"I'm not surprised you don't know it. But that third volume is a particular favorite of mine. An entirely anonymous prisoner, hidden and punished simply for being the brother of the King, but in such a way that anyone on Earth could relate themselves to him and his plight…" He paused. "It's the kind of thing that fascinates me."

"Really?" It occurred to Hinata that he'd never really thought of Togami's interests, or what he did in his free time. They had reached the island, and turned the corner to head for the park. "I never would have known."

"Do you think it foolish? What a pity your mind is so small. I would loan it to you when she's finished, to change your mind, but I don't imagine you read French."

"Yeah, no. I mean, I would if I did."

"Then when we leave this island, I'll buy you a translation. It will be a trifling matter to do so." Togami turned the corner to the path to the park. "We're here."

When Hinata turned the corner, he saw that Owari was not in her position by the game. She was waiting at the entrance of the park with her arms folded and a grin on her face, and when Togami approached she spread herself out in front of him, blocking his path. "Togami!" she said. "Took you long enough!"

Togami shot Hinata a bewildered look, then turned back. "What do you mean, Owari?" he said. "I'm several minutes early. Why are you over here?"

"Yeah, whatever," Owari said. "Listen, old man Nidai told me all about what you can do. Do you know how long I've been looking for someone else on this island to fight besides him?" She pounded her fist into her palm. "Come on! If you can fight him, you can fight me!"

"Fight him?" Hinata said. He looked over at Togami, who looked even more surprised than before. "Owari-" he began, then regained his composure with a chuckle. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, both of you. But you seem to be mistaken. I have no intention of joining your lifestyle of-"

"Yeah, yeah," Owari said. "I thought you'd say something like that, so I'm way ahead of you. If you won't fight on my terms, I'll fight on yours! And I've wanted to do that anyway, so it all works!"

"On mine?" Togami's eyes narrowed. "You're not making any sense."

"I mean we're going to have an eating contest!" Owari grinned even wider. "At the restaurant! Right now! Winner takes the next two shifts!"

Hinata had never seen such a look on Togami's face as he had at the sound of her words, nor did he know how to interpret it. His best guess would be rage mixed with something like awe, or impatience. "An…excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Owari shouted. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Owari, we can't be that impatient," Nidai interrupted. "Nor can we begin a contest your competitor has not yet agreed to." He, too, left his post by the game and approached Togami and Hinata. "Togami! What is your answer?"

"My answer?" Togami sounded as though he was having difficulty forming words. "Here's my answer. What could you possibly be thinking? Hinata and I are supposed to be standing guard over this game right now. How could you ask me to abandon my post on such a _frivolous_ premise?"

"Making excuses, Togami?" Owari said. "Sounds like something a chicken would do."

"A _chicken_?" Togami looked livid. "Absolutely not. Haven't I told you before? There is no way for you to prove your superiority to me in that field. It will only lead to your ruin. I am simply saying that the logistics for such a thing aren't workable."

"AN UNTRUTH!" Nidai roared. "From the passion in your words I can tell you are burning to prove yourself! You cannot let anything stand in your way!"

"I've already told you. Don't try to impose your standards on me," Togami said. "This will not be happening. At a more convenient time I may…consider it." He twitched.

Owari's face fell, but at the sight of it an idea entered Hinata's mind. "But that's not really a problem, is it?" he said. "I could stay here with Nidai until you're done…"

Togami's eyes went wide again, but Nidai spoke before he could. "I understand the logic of this, but not to be present for such a thing…I would not allow it of myself!"

"And for that matter, what exactly are you suggesting?" Togami said. "You will be attending this contest, Hinata. To only have Nidai as a witness would not be enough."

"Hey," Owari said, "Weren't you just saying that it wasn't happening? You're talking like it is!"

"If you are asking for a no or a yes, I have said neither," Togami said. "Do you hear me, Hinata? That is an order!"

"Well…if you say so," Hinata said – even if, deep down, he was curious as to how this was going to play out. "I guess we could get Pekoyama and Mioda to take over."

"Yeah, about that…" Owari put a hand on her chin. "I dunno about Pekoyama, but Mioda came through here earlier and I kind of ran my mouth. She said she wanted to be there no matter what."

"Are you even giving Togami a choice?" Hinata said.

"It's more like her arguments are getting more convincing," Togami said. "As much as I would appreciate Mioda there to swell the numbers of those witnessing my victory, this leaves only Pekoyama to guard the game." He put a hand to his chin. "For this to occur at all, we must call on one of the others. But who?"

"There's got to be someone willing to sit in for half an hour," Hinata said. "And if anything happens Pekoyama's more than capable of handling it."

"Very well," Togami said. "Hinata, thank you for volunteering. Go and find them!"

"Hey, wait, I never said I was voluneering!" Hinata felt the need to say, but he already felt that his fate was sealed. As he walked back to the second island, he tried to turn over in his mind what had just happened – particularly why Togami had accepted all these strange requests after isolating himself for so long. He wondered if this was something like his sudden desire to hold a party. But then he remembered the role of Komaeda's letter, and stopped thinking along those lines.

He ran into Souda on the way, and, thinking he might be reasonably strong, made his offer, but ended up with another spectator instead – "You're really asking me to choose between standing around doing nothing and watching a contest like that?", he'd said. He then found Pekoyama in her cottage; to his relief, she not only showed no interest in the contest, but agreed to take over the shift.

They were just about to go ask around when Kuzuryuu happened to pass through on his way to the cottages. Hinata hadn't planned on asking him, but to his surprise, Pekoyama took the initiative – and to his even greater surprise, Kuzuryuu actually stopped and considered it. "Hm, okay," he finally said. "Why not."

Pekoyama merely nodded, but Hinata was thunderstruck. "You really will?" he said. "But you…"

"What, do I have to explain myself before I can do it?" Kuzuryuu shouted. "You're desperate, aren't you? Just get us over there and leave me alone, shithead!"

"Fine, whatever," Hinata said. They walked back to the island in silence, and arrived to find Owari and Togami entrenched in an intense trash-talking session ("And why exactly are you so confident, Owari? I'd imagine you don't even have experience in this field." "Oh come on! I've never needed experience!"). Kuzuryuu's presence did silence them, but no one wanted to be the one to tell him to go away.

"If he's willing to do the job, there's no reason to refuse him," Togami had finally pronounced. "But given that his role in the watch is unofficial…I would ask you to keep a close eye on him, Pekoyama."

Pekoyama nodded, but said nothing. She and Kuzuryuu headed over to the game and pedestal, respectively, while Togami stepped off for the first island bridge, closely followed by Owari, Nidai, and Hinata.

* * *

When they were just out of sight, Kuzuryuu's hands began to twitch, but he did nothing, not then.

But after several moments he stood from his position against the pedestal, then leaned back. Pekoyama did nothing. He stood again, walked across the park, and stopped at the game console. Pekoyama did nothing. He turned it on with the press of a button, and watched the opening credits play.

Pekoyama looked back at him with her eyes wide – not with shock, but with interest. Kuzuryuu glanced over his shoulder, and froze when he saw her look.

He lifted his hands, but only for a second. Then, he put them back. "Make sure no one gets in the park," he said.

"No one will, young master." She turned away from Kuzuryuu, and kept her eyes on the road.

* * *

They found Souda and Mioda in the hotel lobby, along with, to their surprise, Tsumiki and Nanami. Apparently Nanami and Tsumiki had been playing video games together when the others had arrived and filled them in on the situation. Tsumiki apologized for intruding, but did say it might be in their best interests to supervise this event; Nanami said it sounded exciting before falling asleep briefly where she stood.

Owari rushed upstairs without stopping to talk to anyone. Togami was about to do the same, but Mioda accosted him and began filling his ears with words of encouragement – "There's no way Byakuya-chan is going to lose in eating or anything else Byakuya-chan does! Even if someday Ibuki and Byakuya-chan had a headbanging contest, Ibuki would make sure to teach Byakuya-chan all she knows!" Togami nodded, but said almost nothing as they walked up the stairs.

The rest of them followed after. "S'gonna be an interesting night," Souda said to Hinata as they went up. "Eating contests, they're kinda like, you can't understand them but you can't look away. You know what I'm saying?"

"I don't think it's really like that at all," Hinata said. "Especially if they're so passionate about it."

"Yeah, exactly!" Souda laughed – though Hinata got the feeling he was trying to cover for a comment that hadn't gone over well.

"Whatever the medium, what matters is the competitive spirit!" Nidai added. "And that will be very thick tonight!"

"And it is nice to see Togami-kun being social like this," Nanami said softly. But no one could answer her – they had reached the top of the stairs, or at least as far as they could get given that Owari, Togami, and Mioda had stopped there as well.

"Upupupupu! And there's everyone else! It's about time!" Hinata grimaced at the sound of Monobear's voice. He was leaping up and down on a chair, clapping his paws together. Right next to him were two tables, each laid with precisely identical spreads of food.

"Howaa!" Tsumiki whimpered. "It's you!"

"It's me!" Monobear laughed. "Well, what do you think? This setup is more fair for such a contest, isn't it?"

"Oh definitely!" Mioda said. "But that's so far from the point Ibuki can't even see where it is!"

Hinata was too stunned for words, but Nidai surged forward. "What is the meaning of this?" he shouted. "What motive could you possibly have?"

"Motive? You guys would know if you ever considered my feelings for once!" Monobear said. "There haven't been any murders for six days, and this is the only interesting thing going on! I'm practically dying of boredom, and if I do you'd have to go on trial for killing ME!"

"This will have to be something for you to get used to, then," Togami said. "There will not be another murder. Get out."

"Ack! How ungrateful you are, Togami-kun!" Monobear held his head in his paws. "How do you know that? Do you know that?"

"Perhaps I wasn't clear. Get. Out. Now."

"Gnaah! Again! Well, I'm a bear that knows what he wants. If I stay here you guys are just going to yell at me, and you're not going to get started! And I can just watch through those security cameras anyway, in case you forgot that." Monobear hopped down from his chair. "Hmmm, if you're in this kind of mood, maybe I can just get my sister to come over here and watch you up close! I bet you'd hate that!"

"Monobear, if you're going to leave, you should," Nanami said, her tone dark.

"Hey, you're the ones blocking the road!" Monobear waited until everyone had cleared out from the stairs before he vanished without using them.

The room was tense and silent for a time, apart from Tsumiki's whimpers. "You know," Souda finally said, "I don't really know how I feel about having Monobear in on this…"

"Like he said, it wouldn't have made a difference," Hinata said. "It's no different now than it was before. And if you're worried about the food, it looks like the same thing he gives us every day."

"Hinata is right. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire point of this was to manipulate us, anyway." Togami headed for the tables. "The contest will go on!"

"Alright! Finally!" Owari headed for her own table, sat down, and rubbed her hands together. "Let's eat until we puke!"

"Wait – until we puke?" Togami looked between Owari and Nidai, looking horrified. "This is not what I agreed to. Why would you ever want to create a situation where eating is made _unpleasant_?"

"We're not," Nidai said. "Togami has a point. We need to set down some rules for this."

"How about a time limit?" Nanami offered. "That way no one gets sick…I think."

"An excellent idea!" Nidai said. "I'm imposing a twenty-minute time limit! The winner is the one who consumes the most food within that time! And no puking! If any food leaves your stomach, you're disqualified!"

"Heh. This will not be a problem, especially not for the heir to the Togami Corporation." Both Togami and Owari eyed the food with determination. "Will we begin soon, Nidai?"

Hinata couldn't recall Nidai being put in charge, but Nidai seemed to roll with it, all the way down to the stopwatch that for all he could tell just happened to be in his pocket. "Yes… in three – two – one –" Before Nidai could finish saying "NOW!", Togami and Owari bowed their heads and began eating as fast as they could, glaring daggers at each other all the while.

Mioda let out a wild whoop, and began stamping on the floorboards in a steady rhythm, chanting Togami's name – "By-a-kuya-CHAN! By-a-kuya-CHAN!" Tsumiki looked unnerved by the sudden noise, but also absorbed by the sight before her. Nanami and Souda cheered along – Souda for Owari, Nanami for both of them – while Hinata stood silent, first stunned, then impressed. It wasn't just their intake – though that was pretty impressive, Hinata wasn't sure he could eat all that in a day – but the way that everyone's passion was coming alive, that everything that had happened and could happen had been forgotten in the spirit of the competition. But no, he realized, it hadn't been forgotten. This was a sign that they were moving ahead.

After a while it became clear that, for all that he'd said, Owari was eating far faster than Togami was, likely because she'd ditched the chopsticks entirely, while Togami had not. She did slow down around the ten minute mark, but then she paused, took a fairly loud belch (Togami wrinkled his nose, while Souda bust out laughing) and went on. But it was only temporary – at the sixteen minute mark she started slowing down again, and a few seconds later she pushed her last plate back. But she looked far from defeated – Togami was still several plates behind. Everyone cheered, even Tsumiki and Hinata, and Ibuki switched from stomping to jumping up and down, but Togami neither sped up nor slowed down, and just as it seemed he was catching up –

"TIME!" Nidai yelled. "I SAID TIME! STOP!"

"What?" Togami let the last of the noodles fall from his chopsticks. "What do you mean? Are you sure-"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Owari leapt up from her seat and yelled skyward. "I DID IT! I DID IT! I beat him!" She swung around and aimed a grin right at Togami. "In your face, Porkfeet!"

Togami glared right at her, and stood in order to raise himself above her. "I am not yet even close to full," he said. "Given more time I would have eaten far more than you. This contest was in your favor."

"I don't think anyone had any way of knowing that, Togami-kun," Nanami said. "Owari-san won fair and square."

"Though if you'd gone for the "eat until you puke" option, you probably would have," Hinata felt compelled to add.

"T-that wouldn't have been a good option either way…" Tsumiki said.

"Of course it is! Ibuki demands a rematch!" Mioda shouted. "Ibuki would say right now but she sees that's not really possible!"

"I think I would like that idea," Togami said. "Owari, I will challenge you again in three days."

"Yeah, yeah," Owari said. "Everyone knows you're only saying that because you _lost_."

"Of course I am." Togami smirked. "But it wouldn't be the same contest, would it? This was a contest of speed, not sheer consumption."

"He is correct," Nidai said. "And you still performed admirably, Togami."

"So it'd be different? I getcha." Owari smirked. "But don't expect it to be as easy as you think, old man!"

"Oh, it won't be," Togami said. "I'll make sure of it."

Mioda let out a loud "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO", and no one could hold back at least some laughter. Souda elbowed Hinata in the ribs. "Did you hear her call him old man?" he said. "That's usually just Nidai she calls that."

"A term of respect," Hinata said, more to himself than to Souda. "How about that."

"Alright!" Mioda yelled. "The event's over! Where's the afterparty?"

"There will be nothing of the sort occurring," Togami said. "Hinata, come. We have a long night ahead of us."

"Wait…" Hinata felt numb. "Do I have to do the two shifts, too?"

"Are you refusing?"

"No, no…"

"Ibuki could do it for you!"

"It's fine, Mioda, really…"

"Can Ibuki hang out, at least?" Mioda looked expectantly up at Togami.

"That's not something you need my permission for." Togami headed for the stairs. "Come, Hinata."

"One second." Hinata, feeling a burst of inspiration, turned to his left. "Hey, Nanami…want to come hang out for a bit, too?"

Nanami was still for a few seconds before she spoke. "I was in the middle of a game. Maybe another time."

"Right…okay." He joined Mioda and Togami as they entered the stairs, and the rest of them followed behind. Nanami and Tsumiki stayed behind at the game consoles, and Owari headed back to her cottage, citing a stomachache, but the rest of them headed for the central island, talking and laughing all the way.

They found Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu exactly where they had left them before, motionless and silent. Pekoyama gave a brief goodbye, while Kuzuryuu did not, and they walked away from the park several feet apart from each other.

Souda, Mioda, and Nidai stayed to chat for several minutes, but Souda and Nidai soon left, and after some time even Mioda began showing signs of fatigue – from all the stomping she'd been doing, Hinata was sure – at which time Togami gently nudged her to head for bed.

* * *

"How could she do this? How the FUCK could she do this?"

"Young master, until we know the full context of these photographs, we can't assume what we're seeing is real."

"But it's her! You can't deny it! She's _dead_, Peko!"

"I can't deny that's what it looks like, but Monobear is both powerful and deceptive. I wouldn't think image manipulation is beyond him."

"But how does he even know what she looks like? And where the hell is she, anyway? And how did all these people know each other? These uniforms…this is…this can't be…"

"Young master, I didn't mean to imply that I was certain that the photos were faked. I merely wanted you to consider the possibility. But I trust your judgment. Given what we've seen of Monobear's moral codes, I suppose it is more likely that these photos are real."

"And they're _hers_, aren't they? She took them and then she _lied_."

"A flagrant act of disrespect against the Kuzuryuu family. Not to mention conspiracy in the murder of your sister."

"But she can't remember. And we can't remember. And these rules… what are we supposed to do? Peko, what the fuck are we supposed to do?"

"I live by your orders, young master. I don't give you yours."

"I'm not asking you for orders, I'm asking you for advice! And stop calling me that!"

"Calling you what?"

"'Young master.' You call me by my name around everyone else, don't you?"

"Wouldn't that be what a stranger would do? Didn't you say we were to be strangers? That you didn't need the help of the Kuzuryuu family? And yet you just asked me for advice, and retracted your previous orders-"

"I know what I said, Peko!"

"Very well. If you are willing to take that advice, it looks to me like we have only two options. We do nothing, or we kill her."

"…What?"

"You can't show anyone these photos. In fact, I would recommend destroying them at the earliest opportunity. If anyone discovers them, or anything we've learned from them, it's likely they'll report directly to Togami. If Koizumi learns anything about her past, it should only be in the last moments of her life."

"I don't care about that. But if we kill her…"

"Why would you be hesitating? The people on this island are nothing more than the means for your escape, you've said it yourself. Mahiru Koizumi attempted to hide the slayer of a key member of the Kuzuryuu family from those that would need to exact revenge on her. She has taken that burden on herself. I don't need to tell you what this means."

"Of course you don't! But – Peko –"

"Say the word and I'll strike her down. If it's by your command it would be as if you carried the sword yourself."

"That's not the point. She's not worth it, Peko. She's not worth what we'll have to do."

"If only one of us can leave this island, it will be you. I will not allow anything else, no matter what our connections are. You understand that, don't you, young master?"

"_I told you to stop calling me that_!"

"…I apologize."

"I can't accept that, Peko. And I can't do nothing, not as yakuza and not as me. But if I do…that god damn fucking _bear…_"

"It is your decision. I will not force your hand one way or another. But one of those things must be done."

"You want me to kill her."

"I want to kill her in your stead. But if it is your order to hand this over to you, I will."

"I'm not ordering you."

"If it is your will, then."

"That's not any better. I'll…I'll decide on something. But not right now. Right now I can't think of anything."

"When you make this decision, will it be one I can know about?"

"You'll know that tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure."

"I understand. What will you do with the photos?"

"I'll get up early and toss 'em in the ocean."

"I may join you."

"Won't you be stuck by the game?"

"I'll see what I can do. I don't see any lights in the cottages. I'll have to go while I can. Goodnight, young master."

"Kuzuryuu."

"Hm?"

"You _can _call me Kuzuryuu."

"Alright. Goodnight, Kuzuryuu."

* * *

"I could have won. Given just a few more moments I could have won."

"And that makes the fifth time you've said that." Hinata absently shredded a blade of grass. It was quite dark; the only lights they had were the moon and the dim park lights.

"And why does that surprise you?" Togami was sitting next to Hinata instead of standing by the game, but other than that he didn't seem to have been affected by the amount of food he'd eaten. "When someone has presumed themselves superior to you, aren't you consumed with the desire to prove them wrong?"

"Consumed is a strong word," Hinata said.

Togami did not say anything for some time. He didn't look especially upset about losing – in fact, he looked content, more so than Hinata had ever seen. But then his expression slid to one more thoughtful. "Did you happen to see Koizumi come in, Hinata?"

"Wait…are you asking or are you telling me she did?"

"She did. Around the eight minute mark." Togami stood up. "She came in, took one look, and turned right back around."

Hinata was impressed that Togami could have seen that. "I guess she didn't want to be seen. I didn't see her."

"I've been negligent." Togami turned away from Hinata. "I had no need to react the way I did to her. I did not gauge how she would react, and now I've waited too long to apologize." His head fell. "I've made an enemy of her."

It took Hinata a moment to remember what he was talking about. "Look, if you really want to make it up to her-"

"What are you presuming?" Togami turned back, his expression neutral. "Tch, how foolish. As long as everyone is safe, it shouldn't matter what they think of me. Great leaders often do not receive their due until long in the future."

_That completely contradicts what you just said_, Hinata thought. "Well, okay," he said. "But if it ever _occurs _to you to want to fix things, it's really not too late."

"That…thank you, Hinata. That's an encouraging thing to say."

"Anytime." Hinata looked up at the moon, then around the park. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"None. But based on the moon's position I would make a guess that it's just after –" Togami looked up at the moon, then froze, and extended his finger skyward. "That…is that…Hinata, get up and tell me what you see."

"Hm?" Hinata stood and looked in the direction that Togami was pointing. He didn't see anything at first – and then against the black backdrop he saw a thin grey column of smoke, which he soon realized was much thicker and darker than he had initially assumed. It had climbed about halfway up his view of the sky – Hinata looked down the column to see it disappear into the trees around the first island.

He was just about to speak when the screams began.

Togami looked at him, then back at the game, then took off without another a word. He was a good distance away before Hinata could react and run after him.

* * *

They didn't need to see it to know what it was. As they ran closer they saw blurs of faces passing by, and each of them shouted out the truth before following them back to the hotel. But Hinata didn't want to believe it, even though he knew he had to, not until he saw it with his own eyes. And soon he did.

Pekoyama's cottage was burning.

It was near-engulfed by the time they arrived. Flame spurted from all the windows, and already the roof was crumbling to cinders, though the rest of the building looked intact from the outside. Many of the others were scattered nearby, all in various states of undress; Hinata was just wondering why they weren't doing anything when Souda and Owari ran in from the hotel entrance, carrying several buckets strung up and down their arms. They shed them, kept one each, and bent over the side of the boardwalk, filling their buckets with water while others ran to grab the rest.

Without a second thought, Hinata grabbed one as well. Togami had run past this operation; he was shouting something to Nidai but Hinata couldn't hear or concentrate. He looked at the cottage, he watched the flames leap into the air and reminded himself of just how powerless his small bucket and highly flammable body would be against them, and then he examined those around him, hoping against hope that he'd see Pekoyama, and realized from the looks on everyone's faces that he'd not been the first to search.

"We pulled as hard as we could," Nidai said, his voice coming through loudly and suddenly as Hinata stood. "It's stuck, or locked…"

"Mioda called out to her, to see if she could unlock the door," Sonia added. Hinata turned and saw her standing with Togami and Nidai, wringing her hands. "But we haven't gotten an answer…"

"Then keep trying!" Togami shouted. "In the meantime, if we can get the fire around the windows down, we may be able to use one of them to get in…" Togami stopped suddenly, and looked around wildly. "Koizumi. I don't see Koizumi. Where's Koizumi?!"

"Hey! I'm right here!" Hinata turned to see Koizumi not far off, standing in her pajamas with a bucket of water in her hands. "Stop shouting and help us!"

Togami's brow furrowed, but he ran for the buckets immediately, with Sonia and Nidai at his heels. Hinata threw his own; mostly it splashed against the wall, but a bit did get into the window. This had no visible effect on the fire's size – but then again neither did Nanami, who got all the water in the window on the first try, and nor did anyone else.

On his trip back Hinata saw that Monomi had arrived; she had attempted and failed to pick up a bucket, and now stood by the sidelines, whimpering. Tsumiki, Sonia, Tanaka, and Mioda were with her – there hadn't been enough buckets for everyone, but they were yelling Pekoyama's name, though she didn't reply.

Hinata threw his second bucket, which once again uselessly hit the door, but as he turned to get another he was stopped by a loud by a loud _crack_. He turned around, and half of the cottage roof fell in before his eyes, and the other half was wavering, along with the cottage's front wall, and burning timbers were falling onto the path –

"EVERYBODY MOVE!" five different people shouted. Hinata dropped his bucket and ran as fast as he could, and had just crossed over to the boys' side of the hotel when several more _crack_s were followed by a _CRASH_. Smoke billowed from the collapse, thicker and blacker than ever, and splinters and ash flew through the night air.

Koizumi screamed, and Hinata screamed along with her. Saionji swore loudly, Tanaka howled, and Nanami stared, trembling, her mouth open and her eyes hollow. Mioda trembled, pulling at her hair with her hands. "She's dead," she said. "She's dead, she's dead, she's dead, Peko-chan's _dead…_"

"No." Togami was looking at Mioda, so Hinata couldn't see his expression. "Don't say that. Not until we've found her."

Mioda hesitated. "Ibuki won't lose hope," she said, though she still looked uncertain.

Togami turned back, and Hinata could see that, far from the looks of horror on everyone's faces, he looked quite determined. "I don't see anything flying through the air anymore," he said. "We need to head back."

Togami took off before he was done speaking, and everyone followed after him. Hinata was about to run when a light came on in the cottage next to where he stood, and Kuzuryuu ran out a split second later, hastily tying a bathrobe around his waist. "The hell's going on?" he yelled, stopping in front of Hinata. "What was that noise?"

Hinata hadn't even noticed Kuzuryuu wasn't there. "Pekoyama's cottage," he said, his words sounding wooden as they exited his mouth. "It's on fire – it collapsed –"

As Hinata spoke, the color drained from Kuzuryuu's face. "Where is she?" he said. "Peko – yama – where is she?"

Hinata knew the answer, but he couldn't say it. "She… she…"

"Don't fuck with me!" Kuzuryuu shouted. "_Where the fuck is Peko_?"

_Peko_? Hinata thought, but before he could say anything Kuzuryuu tore off, heading for the smoke plume. Hinata ran after him, yelling as he went. "Kuzuryuu! Kuzuryuu, wait!"

Kuzuryuu did not wait – he kept running ahead of him, into the cloud of ash that now surrounded what had been Pekoyama's cottage and the path that had led to it. Hinata saw the others coughing as they attempted to reach or fill the buckets, and ended up held back by his own coughs. The wreckage had fallen into the knee-deep water, but it was still burning fairly steadily – those few that did manage to get their buckets full were throwing them on the flame. Kuzuryuu reached the edge of the boardwalk, then – to Hinata's utter disbelief – jumped down into the water, waded toward the remains, and began picking through them with his bare hands.

"What the – _Kuzuryuu_!" As soon as Togami saw him, he picked up the nearest bucket, dropped himself into the water, and headed for where Kuzuryuu knelt. "Just what do you think you're doing? You don't know what's under there!"

"Go away!" Kuzuryuu shouted back, still tossing pieces of wood aside. "Leave me alone! Go-"

Kuzuryuu stuck his hands under two blocks of wood, and there was a sudden, agonizing silence before he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Everyone turned their heads to look at him, but Hinata could already see his eyes practically bursting from his head and his face turning red with shock, and when Togami pulled him out he could see his hands blistering before his eyes – but only for a second, before Togami shoved them into the water.

For a second, Hinata thought that Togami was going to let Kuzuryuu have it – and the look on his face supported that theory. But then the moment passed, and it changed to one of determination. "We're going to get her out," he said in a voice Hinata could barely hear. "Do you understand?"

Kuzuryuu was no longer screaming, but he was still trembling and whimpering in pain. "We're going to get her out," Togami repeated. "Go up to Tsumiki, now."

Kuzuryuu shook his head rapidly. Above, Tsumiki fretted. "Oh-oh no-that won't do-I-I'll get some supplies! Just a moment!" She turned and headed for her own cottage.

In the meantime, Nidai, Owari, and Mioda had leapt down into the wreckage, bringing full buckets with them. They poured them around the section where Kuzuryuu had been burned, and then and only then did Togami reach his own hands in. When he did, he stopped, and swung his head around. "She's under the beam!" he yelled up.

"YES! Hold on, Pekoyama, we're coming!" Souda leapt off the boardwalk to help. The rest of them broke into excited whispers; Hinata didn't say anything, but he felt an immense wave of relief, albeit one mixed with trepidation. When Souda reached the rest they were just pulling the beam up and away. Hinata couldn't see Pekoyama through the crowd, but he heard them excitedly yelling her name. Kuzuryuu stood behind them, trying to look through.

"No announcement…"

"Huh?" Hinata turned to his left, where Nanami stood. "What do you mean?"

"Three people found her, and there's no announcement," Nanami said with a small smile. "She's still alive!"

"Oh dear…" Monomi stood at Nanami's feet, shaking and trembling. "Oh dear, oh dear, she must be in so much pain…"

"But she's alive!" Koizumi craned her neck to try and look over the others. "I think they're pulling her out!"

"Where? I can't see! Everyone's too tall!" Saionji jumped. "Big Sis Koizumi, put me on your shoulders!"

"That will not be necessary," Tanaka said. "Observe! She has risen!"

Saionji presumably turned her head back, but Hinata didn't need to. The crowd below had broken, and Nidai and Togami were carrying a huddled form between them, wrapped in each of their jackets. Everyone by the edge of the boardwalk stepped back; Nidai and Togami set Pekoyama down some feet from the edge, then hoisted themselves up, followed by the others that had gone in.

Everyone crowded immediately around her, but Hinata got one of the best views. It had to be Pekoyama, it couldn't be anyone else – but she was unrecognizable. Where her body wasn't red and blistered it was charred and black, and all of her hair had burnt away to wisps. She didn't scream – Hinata wasn't sure she could. She seemed to be channeling every ounce of energy remaining to her into taking short, jagged gasps of air.

"Pekoyama." Togami knelt by her side, though he kept his distance. Hinata recognized the look on his face – it was the same one he'd had just after he'd checked Komaeda's pulse. "Pekoyama, can you hear me? Tsumiki's coming, she'll -"

"Out of my way! _Out of my way_!" Kuzuryuu pushed Koizumi and Souda apart and entered the circle, wincing with pain as he went. He knelt by Pekoyama's side and extended a trembling, deathly-white hand, but did not touch her.

"Peko…" he said. "Peko, it's me…"

Pekoyama did not appear to react to Kuzuryuu's words, and he did not repeat them. After what felt like an eternity of gasps, between one and what may have been another she stiffened, then lay slack. Her eyes did not close.

No one said a word. No one could. Tsumiki pushed past Hinata, carrying enough medical supplies for two, only to find she only needed them for one. She attempted to pull Kuzuryuu away from where he sat, but to no avail – he refused to move his body, and his face was frozen, so Tsumiki muttered an apology and began dabbing ointment on his hands. Togami's expression did not change, but Hinata could see his fingers trembling as he pulled Nidai's jacket over Pekoyama's head.

In the remaining cottages, fifteen screens came alive at once, and Monobear's voice rang out strong throughout the hotel. _"Pin pon pon! A body has been discovered! After a short period of investigation, we will start a school trial!"_

* * *

Next, trial time.

- Carth


	6. Chapter Two, Part Four

Hello again, everyone! First of all, thank you for all your feedback – especially on the changed murder. You have my boyfriend to thank for that – I was about to keep the murder the same, but he told me it needed to be switched up, which it did. Did you know in my initial plan for the story Chapter Two was only supposed to be one chapter long? Yeah. But once again, what was intended to be one chapter has been split. The trial will be up by this weekend.

Also, tws: discussion of wounds and disability, including internalized ableism.

* * *

**Chapter Two, Part Four**

Peko Pekoyama. The Super High School Level Swordswoman.

Even as he was watching her die, Hinata tried to remember Pekoyama as she should have looked. For this he pictured her as he had seen her in the park – strong and silent, unknowable on some level but never hostile. He felt like he'd gotten to know her better than he'd ever expected to over the past few days, and he wondered if that was why he didn't feel nearly so numb as he had when Komaeda and Hanamura had died.

But then, the length of their acquaintance aside, the deaths had been quite different. Komaeda's had been a shock, and Hanamura's over in less than a minute, but Pekoyama's had carried on to the point where the actual moment of her death had hardly sunk in for Hinata at all. More comprehensible was the anticipation vanishing from the faces of his classmates, the beginnings of tears in the eyes of people like Koizumi and Nidai who cried in times like these, and the tension of the announcement still ringing in the air.

The trial. There was going to be a trial. And whoever the killer was – and Hinata remembered with a jolt that her killer was standing among them at that very moment – they would either have to die, just like Hanamura, or they would be the only one to live. So he wasn't yet done losing friends. At least one, he knew, was already lost.

* * *

The announcement ended. Nidai lowered his head. Tanaka bowed and shook his fist. Nanami pulled her hood over her head and apologized softly. Kuzuryuu yelped, but only because Tsumiki had rubbed ointment across a split blister. He bit his lip to prevent any other sounds, then looked down, so Hinata could not see his face.

"That…" Owari grabbed Nidai by the wrist. "No way…that's too much…"

"Peko-chan…" Koizumi crouched down, tears streaming freely down her face. "No, don't…don't do this…"

"This can't be happening." Sonia's voice was hardly more than a whisper. "After all we did, and how hard we worked…"

"What – no, no!" Souda turned to face her, looking more scared than reassuring. "It's not our fault, Sonia-san! Especially not yours!"

"I am agreed," Tanaka said. "In this game, we were but pawns placed in a realm where only the puppetmaster can be victorious. Our only escape is not to lose heart...a difficult path for many, but be assured that they have vastly underestimated my power!"

"I…I see. Thank you, Tanaka-san." Sonia wiped her eye with a flick of her hand. "I only wish I knew what we could have done, and when…"

"What we could have done?" Togami took his hand off Pekoyama's body and stood, his hands straight at his sides. Far from the stony calm he had held through the last investigation, he now looked absolutely furious. "Are you saying you don't know the answer to that?"

Several people gave him uncertain looks. "What, and you do?" Saionji said. "Wow, good job keeping that to yourself."

"I don't think that anyone didn't know that preventing Pekoyama's death would have been a simple matter of _not setting fire to her cottage." _Togami folded his arms and straightened his back, as if to look even taller. "Yes, you heard me. I know you're listening. We've solved a murder before, and we'll do it again. You know what this entails, and you can save us all a lot of trouble by confessing now. Go on."

No one said a word. Togami didn't look disappointed – Hinata wasn't sure whether Togami actually expected a confession. Perhaps this was just a test, his way of determining whether he was up against passion or confidence. But the only one who actually looked intimidated was Monomi, and until she began shaking and trembling Hinata had, once again, forgotten she was there. "N-no one's saying anything," she said. "That could mean no one did it…M-maybe it was just an accident…"

Togami was just opening his mouth when Hinata cut him off – not intentionally, but this didn't stop him. "Monomi, do _you_ even believe what you're saying?"

"I…ohh…that would be…" Monomi shook her head. "But I know you're all better than this…I know… oh, if only I'd kept my Magic Stick, nothing tewibble would ever have happened…"

"But you didn't, and good riddance, I'd say!" Hinata looked over at the wreckage with a tinge of annoyance – Monobear was standing by the edge, throwing his hands in the air. "I mean, can you even imagine my little sister bossing you around all the time? What a bore, am I right?"

"What makes you think we're even interested in answering that?" Hinata said. All around him there were various voices of assent, plus an uncertain whimper from Monomi.

"Yeah, jeez!" Souda added. "Can't you just give us the file or whatever and go?"

"I wouldn't be so polite as that." Togami directed his stare at Monobear. "You want us to investigate, and we will. Once you leave."

"Wow, what are you going to do, make me? Just for that whole spiel, I'll celebrate extra long!" Monobear jumped up and down, spinning and bouncing as he went. "WOOOOO! WHOAAAA! KABOOM! POW! Wasn't that exciting? The correct answer is yes! I don't care about your opinion!"

"Ibuki is a big fan of things that are on fire, but not people! People are not things!" Mioda thrust her arm proudly skyward.

"Nope, don't care! Upupupu!" Monobear produced a popcorn bag out of nowhere and held it up over his head. The popcorn fell, bounced off his grin, and clattered uselessly to the ground. "How bombastic! How entertaining! How _romantic,_ even! It's just the kind of death Taeko Yasuhiro might have wanted. Isn't that right, _Togami-kun_?"

"Taeko Yasuhiro? Who…" Togami hesitated, then grimaced. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, never mind, it's just a joke," Monobear said. "You bastards really are no fun! It would have been so much better if you were struck so numb by despair you couldn't even _bear_ to begin the investigation…but, fine! If you want the file, take it! I'll even throw it on the ground, just for extra emphasis! But first, I have an announcement for the culprit!"

Kuzuryuu's head snapped up, clunking Tsumiki in the jaw as it went. "For the culprit?" he said.

"Oh, don't get so excited, it's just some technical stuff!" Monobear waved his hand dismissively. "You see, when you destroyed the cottage, you also destroyed the security camera and monitor inside in direct violation of the school rules! Ordinarily I'd kill you right now, but I've decided that, if you hide your guilt,_ all_ your crimes will be forgiven in accordance with the school rules. But if not, your punishment is for them all!" Monobear scratched his chin. "Well, that isn't always how I've interpreted that rule, but I may be going easy on you just because of how spectacular this was! I wouldn't have put so much effort into that stupid eating contest if I'd known this was coming!"

Monobear pulled his File out of nowhere, and threw it to Hinata's feet as promised. "There! And may the screen forever be greasy!" He dumped the remainder of his popcorn on the tablet, then vanished.

There were some whispers between pairs, but no sweeping pronouncements from Togami or anyone else. Hinata bent to pick up the tablet, and as he did he ended up on level with Tsumiki, Kuzuryuu, and Pekoyama's body. Kuzuryuu had lowered his head again. Tsumiki was wrapping his right hand in a bandage and tapping his shoulder with her other hand. "Kuzuryuu-san…" she said softly. "It's…this environment …we need to move inside…"

Kuzuryuu did not respond. Hinata straightened up, and tried to look at the tablet rather than at them, but he could still hear Tsumiki growing louder. "Your wounds… if I can't sterilize them properly, they'll get infected-"

"I'm not moving," Kuzuryuu snapped.

"But-" Tsumiki jerked back, and let out a small sob. "But- no – I'm sorry –"

"Mikan-chan, if you need any help-" Before Koizumi could finish her sentence, Kuzuryuu stood under his own power, bandages trailing from his hands, and marched straight through the rest of the group toward Tsumiki's cottage.

"Ah – Kuzuryuu-san, wait!" Tsumiki set off after him, leaving half her supplies behind. Kuzuryuu got to her door before she did, and slumped himself against it until she could open it.

"I think we've spent enough of our limited time gawping." Hinata expected to see Togami looking annoyed with him when he turned back, but it was clear from the shuffling of feet that his words were meant for everyone – and the look he now gave to him alone was more inquisitive. "Hinata, I believe you have a file to show us."

"Oh – right, yeah." Hinata held the file so that everyone could see it, and opened it to find a silhouette of Pekoyama. There were several cartoonish bursts of fire across her body, plus a splatter of blood on her head and several pink marks on her right arm.

**The victim was removed from the rubble of Peko Pekoyama's burned-down cottage at 1:55 AM and died shortly afterwards, **the text read.

**The cause of death was a combination of blunt force trauma, third- and fourth-degree burns, and carbon monoxide poisoning. The victim also has several cuts on her right arm from her attempt to break down her door to escape. **

**There are no other wounds on the body, and no traces of drugs.**

"So…that told us a lot of nothing." Saionji rolled her eyes.

"Well, what did you expect?" Souda said. "This is Monobear we're talking about."

"Actually, I think this tells us something very important," Nanami said. "If she tried to break down the door, then it means that she couldn't open it."

Togami's eyes went wide. "And would that directly lead to the culprit?"

"If we can find out why the door wouldn't open, maybe." Nanami looked over at the wreckage. "Maybe we should start looking for more clues."

"An excellent idea. Other important details would be the source of the fire, or anything here or in your memory that would tie this to a specific person." Togami paused, and scanned the crowd. He lingered longest on Hinata. "Above all, remember that all of our lives are at risk. But do not let that knowledge trouble you. I_ promise_-"

He paused again, and before he could continue, the majority of the crowd left for the wreckage. Only Sonia, Mioda, Hinata, Nanami, and Monomi remained; all searching his face curiously. His brow had softened, Hinata could see, and he looked distracted, turned inward. Between them, Pekoyama's body lay like a barrier.

"I promise I will not let any harm come to you, no matter how great the odds. I swear it on my family name." Togami spoke so softly Hinata could hardly hear him. His eyes fell briefly to Pekoyama, then turned back up to all of them, their power restored. "Don't you have something you should be doing?" he said.

* * *

Hinata began his investigation by joining Mioda, Koizumi, Tanaka, Souda, Nanami, and Nidai in the wreckage. Saionji sat at the edge of the boardwalk, watching them. Sonia stayed by Pekoyama's body – Togami was with her for a short time, but soon began pacing back and forth along the girls' side of the hotel, occasionally crouching to examine the boardwalk, or one cottage or another. Tsumiki and Kuzuryuu were still in Tsumiki's cottage, to the most of Hinata's knowledge, and Owari had gone to check the supermarket for anything flammable. Monomi had vanished to parts unknown.

Hinata picked through an area by the east wall between Mioda and Koizumi, hoping to find a lighter or other source of the blaze, but found nothing more than shattered beams and the charred remains of Pekoyama's possessions. While they were searching, he asked Mioda about what had occurred before he had arrived – not with any goal in mind, but simply out of curiosity. As it turned out, she was just the right person to ask.

"Ibuki was going to to go visit Byakuya-chan and Hajime-chan, but when she left she saw Peko-chan's roof and windows on fire!" Mioda gestured wildly with her hands as she spoke. "So she started yelling, but Peko-chan didn't answer, and Ibuki couldn't open the door…"

"No one could, it seems like," Hinata said. "I wonder what was holding the door shut."

"Something strong, because Nekomaru-chan couldn't open it and Ibuki thought Nekomaru-chan could pull the door off and throw it halfway across the island! But when Ibuki couldn't get in, she started banging on doors and waking people up! Kazuichi-chan and Akane-chan went to get the buckets, and a bunch of people went to get Byakuya-chan and Hajime-chan but then they showed up." Mioda tossed a bit of wood over her shoulder.

"Okay, the- wait a minute." Hinata's eyes narrowed. "You said you woke everyone up. Why was Kuzuryuu still asleep?"

"Whaaa!" Mioda cringed. "Ibuki's sorry, but Ibuki never left the girls' side! She didn't know Fuyuhiko-chan wasn't there until he ran by…"

"You don't have to apologize, Ibuki-chan," Koizumi said from Hinata's other side. "It was a stressful situation, and you weren't responsible for him. The rest of us forgot, too."

"And anyway, oversights happen," Hinata said. "I can understand perfectly."

"Especially with Kuzuryuu. The way he keeps to himself, I'm not surprised this happened." Koizumi looked down. "It's strange, though. He seemed so distressed, and now his hands…"

"I didn't even try making sense of it," Hinata said. It was true – Kuzuryuu's frenzied behavior and efforts to save Pekoyama went against everything he knew about him. And they couldn't possibly have been on first-name terms – as far as he knew they'd only been in each others' company during the eating contest.

"Exactly. And if I keep thinking about it, it'll just distract me from…from…" Koizumi picked up what looked like the remains of a bath towel, and sighed. "I hate this. I hate this whole setup, I hate the mutual killing, and I hate that we just have to jump right into the investigations…Peko-chan was my friend, and we don't even get time to mourn…"

Koizumi buried her face in the towel. Hinata debated whether to extend a hand to her, but before he could Mioda interrupted him. "Ibuki is really sad about that too! But she's channeling her sadness into the investigation, and that's why Ibuki will not rest until the culprit is caught! Not even the sight of Byakuya-chan's rolled-up sleeves will distract her from this goal!"

Mioda looked back over at the boardwalk, and Hinata turned to see Togami standing near Saionji's cottage. His sleeves were indeed rolled up to his elbow, though he failed to see what Mioda found so exciting about this. After just a quick peek she began to turn back, but halfway there she paused, pounced into the water, and came back up with what looked like an overlarge, unburnt tube of toothpaste.

Everyone in the wreckage crowded to see it, and their examination revealed it to have once contained industrial-strength rubber cement. "Aha! So that was it!" Nidai said. "No wonder none of us could pull the door open!"

"I'll say!" Souda said. "This stuff's won't come apart unless you ram a truck into it."

"Or set it on fire," Saionji called down from above. Her legs swung from under her kimono.

"Great observation," Hinata called back. "You know, you_ could_ help us."

"I'm supervising," Saionji says. "It's like what Mr. Porkfeet does, except he's over there and I'm over here."

"But Byakuya-chan isn't a supervisor!" Mioda called back, looking indignant. "He's a leader!"

"Not so loud, Hiyoko-chan," Koizumi mouthed, but the conversation thread didn't really continue. Tanaka, who had not joined them to see the tube, had just announced that Pekoyama's plumbing had been cleanly cut, likely to prevent her from using it to put out the fire. Once this was discussed they went back to their positions, but Hinata didn't find much more of interest, and from the sound of things he wasn't going to.

He moved back up to the boardwalk, where Pekoyama's body still lay. Togami's coat was wrapped around her legs like a blanket, while Nidai's, pulled over her body, looked more like a shroud. He reached for the collar of the jacket, but hesitated. "I…really only need to see her arm, don't I?" he said, mostly to himself.

"That is true," Sonia replied. She looked at the contour where Pekoyama's face had been, her expression unreadable. "Sometimes I wonder why we cover our dead, and whether it is out of respect or fear."

"I've…never thought of that." Hinata lifted the corner by Pekoyama's right arm, and sure enough there were shallow gashes and large splinters in the red, raw skin. "Her hand's all curled," he said.

"Togami-san says she was holding her wooden practice sword when they found her, but it crumbled to ash when she was moved," Sonia explained. "Perhaps it was what she used on her door?"

"That makes a lot of sense." Hinata saw some movement out of the corner of his eye. "Hold on- Owari's back."

Hinata stood and met her by the wreckage, followed by several others. She was carrying two items – a cigarette lighter and a matchbook – and explained that they were the only two fire-starting items for sale at the supermarket. Nanami said that several metal items had survived the fire, but no one had found a lighter anywhere around, and if the culprit had disposed of the rubber cement by throwing it in the water there was no reason to believe they wouldn't have done the same with the lighter. Besides, Koizumi added, they would have had to throw the lighter onto the roof in order to set it ablaze. So the murder weapon was determined to be a matchbook like the one Owari had brought.

But how much did it really matter? Hinata thought as he returned to the body. It did give him a clearer idea of how the murder had occurred, but, just like last time, he had little to no idea _who _had done it. The matchbook might have provided a clue, but only if the murderer had kept it on them, and from the look of things they had not. He arrived to find Togami having a conversation with Sonia, which cut off abruptly when his presence was noted.

"Hinata," Togami said, looking up at him. "I've been looking for you."

"For…me?" Hinata said. "Why-"

"Pardon me, Sonia." Togami stood, walked over to Hinata, and steered him toward the central path with a wave of his hand. "Over here," he said in an undertone. "We have important work to do."

"What, what?" Hinata said – but Togami set off without answering him, so Hinata had to follow after him, taking long strides just to keep up. "I think I'd like to know what we're doing, if it's this important."

"Isn't it clear, from where we're going?" Togami came to a sudden stop in front of Tsumiki's cottage. "I would hope you would understand this can't be ignored."

Hinata's memories of Kuzuryuu flew back into his brain. "Then you think Kuzuryuu knows something?"

"I'll find out soon enough," Togami said. "And I'll have your judgment to assist me."

"That's…a pretty tall order," Hinata said.

"Then you're overestimating the role I'm giving you," Togami said with a humph. "Assistants allow a person of power to transcend human error and limits of perception. They do not presume themselves superior."

"I hadn't really thought anything like what you said," Hinata said. "I guess…it's a compliment. In a way."

Togami took a step to the door, then stopped. "Hinata, are you aware of your position in this case? Our positions, in fact?"

"I think I missed whatever it is you're thinking of."

"We're the only ones whose night locations can be confirmed. You know I didn't leave your sight, and neither did you leave mine. I can trust, without a doubt, that you are not responsible for Pekoyama's death." Togami's shoulders fell. "I am glad, at least, for that trust."

Togami continued for the door, and as he did Hinata felt it again – the ache in his soul that acted something like an alarm bell whenever he was thrust into some part of Togami that he didn't understand. But it was over quickly. Togami knocked on the door, and when they heard a shy "I-It's open!" from inside he opened it and he and Hinata stepped in.

* * *

Hinata had never been in Tsumiki's cottage. It looked like a doctor's office, which was more or less how he had expected it to look. Kuzuryuu and Tsumiki were easily the most eye-catching things in the whole room – Tsumiki sat at a chair by a desk, fastening a cloth bandage around Kuzuryuu's left hand. Both hands were completely encased in bandages, and looked more like paddles than anything else.

Kuzuryuu looked up at the sound of the door, then did a double-take and jerked away from Tsumiki. "You!" he said, and Hinata knew he wasn't talking to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Ahh…!" Tsumiki fumbled and dropped the roll of bandages. "Kuzuryuu-san, you only need to hold still one more moment…"

"You think I give a shit?" Kuzuryuu snapped back at her. Tsumiki crouched, apologizing in a steady stream, and moved her chair to better reach his new position. "Are you gonna stand there or answer me? Huh?"

Togami did not reply. He waited until Tsumiki had fully fastened Kuzuryuu's bandage before addressing her. "Tsumiki, if you will, I would like to have a private word with your patient. I will not take long."

"Oh-!" Tsumiki stood immediately. "Y-yes…I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Tsumiki, you have done nothing wrong. There is no need for this." His expression was emotionless, but soft. Tsumiki nodded, and stepped past them and out the door.

As soon as she had left, Kuzuryuu moved to her chair and sat backwards on it. He draped his bandaged hands over the backrest and swiveled the seat back and forth with his feet. "A word in private?" he said. "Thanks for letting me know. If it's so private, what's he doing here?" He inclined his head towards Hinata.

"Hinata is here as my security," Togami said. Hinata shot him an odd look.

"Always thought that worked the other way round." Kuzuryuu set his elbows on the backrest and waved his wrists. He looked positively cocky – not uncommon for his interactions with Togami, but odd when Hinata remembered him screaming in pain. "Are you mocking me?"

"No, you've misunderstood me." Togami stepped forward. "Kuzuryuu, why are you injured?"

Kuzuryuu's smirk vanished in an instant. Hinata thought he looked uncomfortable, even threatened. "Stop fucking around," he said. "Ask your real question."

"Very well," Togami said. "What is your connection to Pekoyama?"

"None."

"Don't take me for a fool," Togami said, a hard tone entering his voice. "What is your connection to Peko Pekoyama?"

Kuzuryuu turned away, trembling slightly. "None of your business."

"All of our lives are in danger. This is _very _much my business."

"I don't have nothing to do with nothing."

"I don't think you understand that you do," Togami said. "I have looked over every inch of this hotel and considered every known movement of everyone on this island in the last twelve hours. I have found nothing to lead me anywhere, except for you. You are the only means we have of finding her killer."

Kuzuryuu shook more violently than before – then, suddenly, he stopped. "I don't care," he said. "I don't know anything."

"You don't?" Togami said. "Kuzuryuu, you seem to think that I am going to somehow dismiss that you ran to stick your hands in a bonfire on the off chance you might save her. Or that in the moments before her death you not only referred to her by her first name, but begged her to recognize you."

The emotion in Togami's voice had grown with every word, but after a brief pause, it leveled abruptly. "Kuzuryuu, when the rest of us were at the eating contest, what were you and Pekoyama doing?"

Hinata's blood ran cold. For the first time that evening he remembered Pekoyama asking Kuzuryuu to guard the game, Kuzuryuu accepting, the looks in their eyes as they walked away from the park. He wanted to say something, wanted to be shocked, wanted to be accusatory, but the words weren't coming in any way that wasn't hysterical.

Kuzuryuu didn't turn around, but he did shift slightly, and leaned back in the chair. "I already told you to stop with the fake questions," he said. His voice sounded just as restrained as Togami's. "If you're going to accuse me of something, then get on with it."

"From the look of things, I don't need to." Togami moved back several steps. Hinata realized that he was blocking the door. "Are you going to confess, or will I have to pry it from you at the trial?"

Kuzuryuu swung slightly, and began to shake again – Hinata quickly realized that he was shaking with laughter. Hinata could see him in profile, but his expression far from anything Hinata would call mirth – in fact, tears were staining his cheeks. "God, Togami," he said once he could. "Are you that convinced I killed her?"

Togami's eyes went wide, but he said nothing. Kuzuryuu turned all the way round and stood from his his hands hovering near his pockets. Then, without warning, he banged his left hand hard against the desk, biting his lip to hold back any signs of pain. The clasp fell off, the bandage loosened and unraveled, and Hinata could see the raw, blistered skin underneath.

"You know what Tsumiki said about these?" Kuzuryuu walked closer to Togami and Hinata, holding his hand up for them to see. "Three weeks. Three weeks and _maybe _it'll stop hurting. And _maybe _I'll be able to use my hands again. You know how many things I use my hands for? I can't dress myself, I can't eat by myself, I can't – I'm rapidly running out of time before I'll have to have someone else wipe my ass. And you know who that'll have to be? Tsumiki_. _Do you think I _want _Tsumiki that close to my ass?"

"Kuzuryuu-"

"I'm completely defenseless," Kuzuryuu went on, cutting Togami off. "If anyone wanted an easy way off the island they could do just about anything to me. Ain't that right, Hinata?" Kuzuryuu rounded on him. "You've been quiet, what do you think? Wouldn't it be easy to walk up to me and snap my neck?"

"Wait, what?" Hinata had never seen any expression like Kuzuryuu's – it was despair and mockery rolled into one. He took several steps back. "Why would I ever do that?"

"Heh. Never mind. You're too much of a goody two-shoes." Kuzuryuu turned back to Togami. "I think you get the point. But you know what, Togami? I'd do it a thousand times over again if it meant I could get her back. So, no, I didn't fucking kill her."

He sniffled loudly, and a pained smile stretched across his face. "But maybe I did play the game. And maybe I do know who the killer is. Actually, I have a _very _good idea of who it is. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Kuzuryuu tilted his head up. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

Hinata looked over at Togami. His overall expression hadn't changed very much, but Hinata knew that silence from him meant nothing good. "Togami?" he dared to say.

"Who is it?" Togami said, almost cutting Hinata off. "Who did it? Who killed her?"

"Oh, I'll tell you," Kuzuryuu said. "But not yet. This is my revenge, not yours." The screen next to them flashed to life, and Monobear appeared, announcing the trial. "I don't have to stay here anymore."

He walked past Hinata, made a point of shoving past Togami, and stopped at the front door. "I can't open this," he said after several seconds, so Hinata walked over and opened the door. Kuzuryuu walked through, then slammed it behind him with his foot.

Monobear vanished from the screen, and Hinata could hear voices outside, presumably as everyone headed for the central island. Hinata looked over at Togami, who remained rooted to the spot. "We should probably get going," he said. "Everyone else is-"

"She let him play the game," Togami said.

Hinata's eyes went wide. He hadn't really had time to process this information – nor was he completely sure how or why it had come about. "She did," he said, "I know. But there's nothing we can really do about that."

"But didn't I tell her, explicitly, to keep an eye on him? Did I have any reason to doubt she'd keep her word?" Togami clutched at the sleeves of his shirt. "I gave her the jacket off my back," he said, his words hollow. "I did everything I could to keep her alive…"

"Togami…" Hinata remembered Pekoyama, and the nod she'd given just before they'd left – and then, unbidden, he remembered Komaeda, and his betrayal, and the calm, determined expression Togami had held throughout his investigation. He wondered, suddenly, how much effort it had taken him. "I-I'm sorry," he said. "I don't really know what to say. Really, I'm as confused as you are, and-"

"No, no no no. I can't do this. Everyone's in danger." Togami spun round, threw the door open, and marched out. Hinata followed after him, but no matter how fast he went he couldn't catch up.

* * *

- Carth


	7. Chapter Two, Part Five

And here it is, the trial. Dun dun DUN! To answer some questions that have been coming up on FFnet and AO3, don't worry, you'll see the execution. I just left Hanamura's out because it wasn't any different than in canon. And this will be the full trial. I don't think a cliffhanger would work here.

Also it really has been interesting watching people guess the culprit. I wonder what you'll think of me by the end of this… but do I mean the end of this chapter or the end of this story? I do not know.

**NOTE**: Due to characterization issues, this chapter will soon be edited/rewritten. I will keep a copy of the original for whoever wants it. I hope you guys like the result!

TWs: Brief self-harm, plus about what you'd expect from a School Trial.

* * *

**Chapter Two, Part Five**

By the time Hinata and Togami arrived at the central island, everyone else was in the process of entering the mountain. After fielding questions about their absence – "So how's he kiss?" was Saionji's contribution – they followed after them and entered the elevator.

They descended in silence. Few of Hinata's classmates looked any different than they had during the last trial – fear and apprehension were the most common emotions on their faces. Kuzuryuu was one exception – he stood with his to his sides, looking morose but confident. Togami was looking into a corner with his arms folded across his chest, and Hinata could not see his face.

They soon arrived at the trial room and took their places. Hanamura's and Pekoyama's portraits had joined Komaeda's – Hanamura's X was in the shape of a knife and fork, and they lost about thirty seconds while everyone reacted. Monobear opened the trial from his seat, no differently than he had the last time, and from there the debate began.

Hinata had expected swift action from either Kuzuryuu or Togami regarding Pekoyama's killer, but Mioda and Nanami led the conversation in the direction of the circumstances of Pekoyama's death. Much of it Hinata had already figured out for himself, and he added details where the others were confused – Tsumiki had somehow gotten it into her head that Pekoyama's lock had been stuck. Togami did the same, while Kuzuryuu remained silent.

It was likely, Hinata thought, that Kuzuryuu was waiting for the right time to act – and it wouldn't surprise him if Togami was allowing him to determine what time that would be. The only time Kuzuryuu reacted to any of the discussion was when Owari happened to mention that Pekoyama had attempted to break down her door, at which point he'd looked down and smiled to himself. Hinata hadn't realized that Kuzuryuu hadn't known about that.

After what seemed like ages, Nanami suggested a recap of everything they'd figured out. "Apart from Hinata-kun and Togami-kun, who were both by the game, everyone says they were in their cottages by 10:30 PM," she said. "Sometime between then and 12:30 AM, the culprit left their cottage and went to Pekoyama-san's. They disconnected her water supply, sealed the door with the rubber cement, and threw the empty tube under the cottage. After waiting for the rubber cement to dry, they lit all of her paper windows on fire with a match, then lit the entire matchbook and threw it onto the roof. Then they returned to their own cottage.

"We can assume Pekoyama-san woke up not long after and discovered both the sealed door and the disabled plumbing. So she performed her last resort, breaking down the door with her wooden practice sword, which created the cuts on her arm from the flying splinters. But she was overtaken by the flames before she could break through.

"Around this time, Mioda-san found the fire. She yelled to her, but it was too late. So she woke everyone, including the culprit, but despite their best efforts the cottage collapsed and Pekoyama-san was killed."

"Hooray, wow, we figured it out again," Saionji said, rolling her eyes. "But I didn't hear anything about who the killer was in there. So it's still all useless."

"But was there really nothing we found that would lead to their identification?" Nidai said. "No chance observances? Nothing?"

"Upupupu…that's a bit of a problem!" Monobear rocked back and forth in his seat, grinning wildly. "Have we got the perfect crime on our hands? That'd be stressful, wouldn't it?"

"That can't be, though," Hinata said. He waited for a second for Togami or Kuzuryuu to interrupt him, but it didn't happen. "Maybe if we look somewhere else…somewhere we haven't considered…"

"Okay, okay, I get the hint," Kuzuryuu interrupted. "Shut up for a second, will you, Hinata?"

Togami turned his head sharply toward Kuzuryuu, and everyone else followed suit. Kuzuryuu folded his arms, and a grin spread across his face. "Got a bit of a surprise for you guys," he said. "I know exactly who the killer is, not to mention why. But if I hear any of that shock and awe bullshit Komaeda got," he yelled over the wave of noise that was beginning to form, "I'm stopping and you're on your own. Got it? No reactions 'til I'm done."

"You're building yourself up a hell of a lot," Souda said.

"I have also observed this," Tanaka said. "How do we know you are worthy of our trust?"

"I said shut up!" Kuzuryuu shouted. "I think you'll find me very convincing. And I've got Togami to back me up. Don't I, Togami?"

He grinned mockingly at Togami, who did not turn to look at him. "We'll see about that," he said.

"Alright, enough waiting around." Kuzuryuu folded his arms and looked down at his trial stand. "So…wanna know a little something 'bout Peko? We're not exactly strangers. We've known each other since we were kids. Actually, that's puttin' it a little too lightly." He looked back up, his expression harder than Hinata thought it would be. "She was my hitman."

Several people stifled gasps, but just as many didn't bother to hide their reactions in the least. "Your hitman?" Koizumi called out. "That's absolutely ridiculous!"

"I'd shut your lying mouth if I were you," Kuzuryuu said. "Like I said, hitman. So when Togami and Owari decided they wanted to see who could stuff the most food in their faces, who'd Peko choose to come guard the game with her? Me. And when I got there, I decided I'd go play the game. So I did. And you know what Peko did? Nothing."

No one called out this time, though most wore expressions of shock and disbelief, Koizumi still looked indignant, and Togami's head fell into his chest. Kuzuryuu ignored them all. "Now, you wanna know what was in that game?" he said. "I'd say it doesn't matter anymore, but that wouldn't technically be true. At first it didn't make any sense. It was just some dumb story about some girls finding a body and another girl ending up dead. But once I got past the _dull start_, things started coming together. Things like the names in the credits. Let me see if I remember right… Satou. Kuzuryuu. Kuzuryuu. Tsumiki. Mioda. Saionji. Koizumi." As he said each name, Tsumiki, Mioda, Saionji, and Koizumi looked at each other in confusion.

"And then there's these _photos_." Kuzuryuu put heavy emphasis on the last word, and Koizumi blanched unmistakably. He opened his bathrobe slightly, reached in, and after some struggling a manila file folder fell out. He did pick it up, wincing in pain, and used his half-unwrapped hand to open the clasp on the envelope.

"K-Kuzuryuu-san," Tsumiki stammered, "you shouldn't be using your hands until they're fully healed…"

"And we shouldn't be seeing them, either!" Souda said, looking away determinedly.

"I said shut up!" Kuzuryuu pulled four photos out of the envelope, and held up the first. "So Monobear gave me these 'cause I was the first to finish the game. Like this first one…one of the girls in the game took a photo like this. These girls look familiar to you?"

Hinata could hardly see the picture, but soon an enlarged image was displayed on the screens around the room. It was unmistakably a photo of Mikan, Saionji, and Mioda, all wearing vaguely similar school uniforms. "Ibuki doesn't remember that being taken at all!" Mioda called out before catching herself and covering her mouth with her hands.

"What part of shut up do you guys not understand?" Kuzuryuu folded his arms. "Of course you don't. It's from the memories we lost, at Hope's Peak. But that's all that one does. This one…" He held up a photo of a blonde girl, dead from a blow to the head. "This one is my sister."

In the corner of his eye, Hinata saw Koizumi do a double take, then cover her mouth with her hands. "Now, I'll go quick with this," Kuzuryuu went on. "But let's just say this next picture –" he held up a photo of a broken vase – "would've implicated Satou without a doubt. But it didn't. The_ photographer_ destroyed it. Not that it made any difference for_ her._" He held up a photo of a girl with her face hidden by her hair, also dead from a blow to the head.

Koizumi's eyes went very, very wide, and several people in the trial room looked at her with confusion or concern. "But back to me and Peko," Kuzuryuu continued, putting the photos back. "You can imagine we weren't very happy about this. My sister's a key member of my family. And when someone hurts your family, you hurt 'em back. I don't need to say what we were sayin', but what I am sayin' is we're not the only ones that heard what we were sayin'."

"Wait a moment." Sonia's eyes went wide. "Kuzuryuu…what exactly are you admitting to…?"

"Now you may be thinkin', plottin' revenge isn't anything you want anyone to know." Kuzuryuu looked briefly at Sonia, then forward again. "Why would I ever admit to it? Well, I'll tell you this. It isn't about you. I still don't give a shit what you think of me or whether you live or die. Unless you're Mahiru Koizumi and_ you're the piece of shit that killed Peko!_"

Kuzuryuu pointed his hand across the floor at Koizumi, and Hinata turned to her, along with everyone else. Her eyes had gone wide with shock, and she still covered her mouth with her hands. "I – I didn't do it," she said, her voice muffled. "I didn't know, I – what? – "

"You killed her!" Kuzuryuu's demeanor changed dramatically – his face contorted, his voice became a hoarse scream, and tears flew from his eyes. "You killed her like you killed my sister! And now _you're lying about it again_!"

The entire room broke out in whispers ("What's he talking about? Didn't he just say that Satou girl killed his sister?" "I can't even follow all this!" "What's going on? What's Koizumi-san got to do with anything?") but Hinata kept his eyes on Koizumi first and foremost. Her expression was changing as well – her eyes were still wide and staring, but her expression had hardened.

"I'm not lying about anything!" she shouted suddenly. "All this stuff you're saying – I didn't know about it! I don't remember any of it, and in any case –"

"Liar!" Kuzuryuu shouted. "You heard us after you saw us at the game, then you killed her like a fucking coward-"

"Hey! I won't let you talk to Big Sis Koizumi that way!" Saionji pulled herself up on her trial stand and leaned so far over Hinata was sure she was going to fall into the center. "If you don't stop I'll pour so much salt on your hands you'll shrivel like a slug!"

"Hiyoko-chan, that's not really necessary…" Koizumi shook her head, then put her hands at her sides. "Listen, Kuzuryuu, you know I didn't kill your sister! I didn't even know you had a sister! And I _definitely _didn't kill Peko-chan!" She gritted her teeth. "I don't care what she was to you, or what you were making her do – Peko-chan was still my friend!"

"Making her do?" Kuzuryuu laughed to himself. "Are you _serious_?"

The screens above them flickered to life, and both Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama appeared on what looked like security camera footage. _"You can't show anyone these photos," _Pekoyama said._ "In fact, I would recommend destroying them at the earliest opportunity. If anyone discovers them, or anything we've learned from them, it's likely they'll report directly to Togami. If Koizumi learns anything about her past, it should only be in the last moments of her life."_

_"I don't care about that_." Kuzuryuu looked very distressed in the footage, and he spoke in a pleading tone. "_But if we kill her…"_

_"Why would you be hesitating? The people on this island are nothing more than the means for your escape, you've said it yourself. Mahiru Koizumi attempted to hide the slayer of a key member of the Kuzuryuu family from those that would need to exact revenge on her. She has taken that burden on herself. I don't need to tell you what this means."_

The courtroom fell silent. Hinata felt his stomach twisting in a knot – he had never seen Pekoyama look so menacing. "I don't believe it," he heard Sonia say. "All this time, she was capable of saying such horrible things…?"

"No, she…" Koizumi's eyes went wide again; she appeared to be having a stronger emotional reaction to the footage than to the accusations. "Even if I had known, I wouldn't…I'd never…"

"You're wasting my time!" Kuzuryuu interrupted. "Everyone knows you did it! They've seen proof!"

"Wait, no! That wasn't proof at all!" Koizumi looked round the room, perhaps spot-checking to see if anyone actually believed Kuzuryuu. Most looked uneasy, but none but Kuzuryuu truly angry. "But if you'd just shut your mouth for once, I'd be able to tell you I _do_ have an alibi!" She looked right past Hinata, over to Saionji. "Hiyoko-chan and I were having a sleepover. I was at her cottage the entire night!"

Hinata gasped, and several others followed suit. "That's right!" Saionji folded her arms in midair and grinned. "Big Sis Koizumi didn't even leave once!"

"And Ibuki can vouch for them too!" Mioda said. "They both came out of Hiyoko-chan's cottage when I came to get them!"

"See?" Koizumi turned back to Kuzuryuu. "I…don't really deny I did this thing I don't remember doing… but you're using a motive I didn't know about to accuse me of a murder there's no way I could've committed!"

There were palpable signs of relief on many faces – all except Kuzuryuu's. He shook and trembled with renewed anger. "No…she's…they're lying!" he shouted. "They must have conspired to kill Peko together!"

Hinata shot Kuzuryuu an incredulous look. "Where the fuck did you get that?" Saionji shouted from next to him.

"That's absolutely ridiculous!" Koizumi now looked well and truly angry. "Didn't Monobear say you can't work with someone else?!"

"Well, I did say that only one culprit would get to walk free," Monobear said, "But I'm not going to say you bastards are all _completely _rational…"

"Of course she isn't!" Kuzuryuu said. "She must've brainwashed Saionji, like Komaeda brainwashed Hanamura!"

"Wait – _what_?" Koizumi's brow furrowed. "I don't even know what you're talking about! You can't make stupid accusations like that without proof!"

"I don't need any more proof," Kuzuryuu said. "I have all the proof I need. Why would anyone else want to kill Peko?"

"Could it be that the murder was done at random?" Nidai said. "It may not have had anything to do with this!"

"I don't think we should consider that yet," Nanami said. "The Twilight Syndrome motive is the only lead we have, and it's an extremely strong one. If we abandon it as a motive, our investigation will fall apart. We need to examine everyone's relationship to it before we can discount it."

"You already have it!" Kuzuryuu shouted. "Koizumi conspired with Saionji and killed Peko! There's no other way!"

"I don't even believe this anymore," Souda said. "Is there any way to reassure this guy?"

"I think there is." Hinata had a sudden flash of memory. "Kuzuryuu, you're saying that Koizumi being vouched for by Saionji isn't reliable enough evidence that she didn't commit the murder. But you're also saying that in order to commit the murder, she must've known about the motive. There was no way Koizumi could've been on the central island while you were playing the game, though. Togami saw her at the eating contest!"

Koizumi froze, then turned to face Togami. "You…did?" she said in a voice that was barely audible. "I did go in at one point to get dinner, but I saw something going on, so I left. I didn't even know there was an eating contest…"

Togami did not speak for an awkward moment. He had raised his head while Koizumi had spoken, and for the first time Hinata got a good look at his face – he looked shaken, but determined. "There was, and I can confirm I saw you," he said.

"So there you go," Hinata said. "I'm willing to say Koizumi's innocent."

"Of course she is." Togami turned to face Kuzuryuu, a fierce anger in his eyes. "Kuzuryuu, even taking your unfounded and nonsensical insistence on a conspirator into an account, there is no way Koizumi could have been at the central island park in time to see you. And we already know there is no way she could have committed the murder. Continuing to insist on her guilt will only hinder the investigation."

"But-" Kuzuryuu was breathing very heavily, and shaking his exposed hand. "But the photo – my sister –"

"You are referring to an event none of us remember and which is not the subject of this trial." Togami looked briefly at Koizumi, but did not say a word before straightening up again. "But your display was not a complete waste of time. We have a motive. We must consider that someone else may have acted on it, for whatever reason."

"And not only that, but we have a timeframe." Hinata closed his eyes for a moment and skated through the twists and turns of his mind, assembling the pieces of the night into something he could use to help the investigation. "In order to have committed the murder according to the motive, someone would have to be unaccounted for between 6:15 and 7:00 PM, when the eating contest was taking place, or between 12:00 and 1:30 AM, when the murder was being committed."

"But what about the period when Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama were conversing?" Nidai said. "Isn't that also important?"

"I don't know about your ears, but if anyone ever makes noise in the cottages I can't hear it from the road," Owari said. "If you wanted to listen to anything anyone was doing you'd have to know what you were listening for."

"Ibuki agrees!" Mioda said. "Ibuki can hear anything but the noises in the cottages may as well not exist!"

"And few of the suspects would even pass Kuzuryuu-kun's cottage on the way back to their own…I think," Nanami said.

"That's evidence enough for me," Nidai said. "But all say we were in our cottages after 10:30 PM, so that's not going to be a very useful time interval."

"Not all of us," Togami said. "Hinata and I were at the game. We can account for each other."

"And I know Owari-san, Tsumiki-san, Nidai-kun, Souda-kun, and Mioda-san were at the eating contest," Nanami said. "They can account for me, and Togami-kun already accounted for Koizumi-san."

"That's a lot of you!" Monomi said, sounding joyful.

"Don't forget I _can_ account for Saionji after 10:00 PM," Koizumi added. If her emphasis was directed at Kuzuryuu, he did not react to it, or to anything happening at all. He had assumed a position not unlike the one Togami had been in, with his head down and his arms folded.

"So that's ten of us with alibis now." Togami looked around. "That leaves…Tanaka, Sonia, and Kuzuryuu."

"Wait – what?!" Kuzuryuu's head jerked up. "Why am I still a suspect?"

"We still don't have proof of your whereabouts after 10:30 PM." An edge was entering Togami's voice. "For all we know, this could all be a _very_ involved con."

Kuzuryuu's mouth fell open in shock. "Are you_ shitting _me right now?!"

"Togami-kun, I know where you're getting this," Nanami said, holding up her hand. "But I think I'm going to trust Kuzuryuu-kun. Without this information, we wouldn't have been able to eliminate seven people from suspicion. And we know he and Pekoyama-san were close." Nanami looked up at the screen, where Pekoyama's face was frozen. "I really don't believe he intended to leave this island without her."

Togami looked over at Kuzuryuu, who was quite determinedly looking away from him. "There's no proof," he mumbled.

"There's no proof he did," Tsumiki said, trembling. "But there's also no proof he didn't…"

"There could be, but only if Tanaka and Sonia are accounted for," Hinata said. "I think we should put Kuzuryuu aside for now." _Or forever, _Hinata thought. He really didn't think Kuzuryuu had done it – he wasn't too familiar with emotional displays, but his grief over her death had seemed genuine. And from the looks on most everyone else's faces, it appeared they agreed with him.

"You're functioning exactly as I thought you would, Hinata," Togami said. "Now… that leaves Tanaka and Sonia. Neither of them can be accounted for during either time."

Everyone looked from one suspect to the other. They each had very different reactions to the news, Hinata noticed. Sonia's eyebrows lifted slightly, but otherwise her neutral expression did not change. Tanaka, on the other hand, had gone very pale, and his mouth hung open as if in shock. His arms were folded across his chest; the Four Dark Gods of Destruction peeked out between them.

"But that means Tanaka did it, right?" Souda looked wildly from Sonia to Tanaka. Sweat beaded on his forehead. " 'Cause t-there's no way Sonia-san would–"

"Souda, quiet." Togami turned to face Tanaka. "Tanaka, where were you between 6:15 and 7:00 PM last evening?"

"Last evening…" Tanaka took a deep breath. "I was in my cottage, reading aloud to the Dark Gods, as is my custom. I remained at this task the entire evening, until they grew tired."

"That's…weirdly adorable," Koizumi said, her eyes wide.

"No, it's ridiculous!" Souda shouted. "Reading to a bunch of hamsters? What kind of an excuse is that?"

"You dare doubt the importance of the rituals of the Four Dark Gods?" Tanaka thundered. "Is it so different from your slavish devotion to your metal machines?"

"I'll say!" Souda yelled, "You're a delusional murderer, and I'm-"

"Souda-san, if you will, I need to offer my own alibi," Sonia interrupted.

"O-of course!" Souda gave Sonia a simpering look. "You can do it, Sonia-san!"

"Yes, I know," Sonia said. "I too was in my cottage the entire evening. I was also reading, if not to hamsters. I did leave during one period to eat, but this was shortly before the nighttime announcement. I met Nanami-san in the lobby. She can account for me."

"I can," Nanami said.

"Very well. But one of you is lying," Togami said. "Does anyone remember seeing either Tanaka or Sonia between 6:15 and 7:00 PM?"

"Ooooh! I do!" Monobear raised his hand. "But what does that mean? Hm, I don't know!" Several people rolled their eyes, but no one else spoke.

"Then we've made no progress," Nanami said. "We can't prove them innocent or guilty, either…"

"Does this mean we have to guess?" Mioda said.

"Wait." Koizumi raised a shaking hand. "I have something that could eliminate Tanaka."

Tanaka's eyes went wide, and he began shaking even more violently. "S-speak, then," he said.

"Well, Hiyoko-chan and I were up all night," Koizumi said. "We saw the fire around the same time that Ibuki-chan came to get us…but that's beside the point. If anyone had come past Hiyoko-chan's cottage after 10:30, we would have seen them."

"But no one did," Saionji said. "And Big Sis Sonia's cottage is past mine..."

Hinata's heart was just about to fall into his stomach when Souda interrupted them. "That isn't proof!" he shouted. "You had your lights on! Tanaka could've gone around the other side to avoid you!"

"But…couldn't Sonia-san have done the same thing?" Tsumiki said.

"She didn't. She came through just before 10:30. Peko-chan came through shortly after she did-" Koizumi froze. "Kuzuryuu…what time did you meet with Peko-chan?"

Kuzuryuu looked up again, his eyes slowly widening. "We met at ten," he said. "And she left just before 10:30…"

"And Chiaki-chan," Koizumi said, turning to Nanami, "What time did Sonia-chan leave the restaurant?"

"She left just before ten," Nanami said.

This time, Hinata's heart really did fall. He looked over at Sonia, who didn't appear to have reacted to the discussion about her at all. Her hands were set neatly at the sides of her pajama bottoms, and her lips were halfway between neutrality and a smile. "Sonia…" he said. "Where-"

"That doesn't prove anything!" Souda shouted. "If Sonia-san had been there someone would've seen her! She wasn't there! She was reading in her room!"

There was an uncomfortable silence, which Tsumiki broke. "Like I said, she could have gone around the back, into the water…oh, that's just stupid, isn't it…"

"Tsumiki, I will be the judge of that." Togami's eyes narrowed. "If that were to be the case…her clothes would be wet, wouldn't they?" He turned around. "Monobear, is there any way to confirm whether the clothes Sonia wore during the day are wet?"

"Hey, if you want to snoop around in a girl's laundry that's your own prerogative!" Monobear shouted.

"You're one to talk!" Monomi yelled down from above.

"Oh? What's this you're accusing me of, little sister?" Monobear jumped up in his seat. "Are some of your panties missing?"

"Oy, shut up!" Togami slammed his fist on the trial stand. "This is necessary for the investigation. If you can produce the meat on a bone, you can –"

"Monobear's lack of cooperation won't be a problem, Togami-san. I can tell you that my day clothes _are_ wet, at least from the knees down." Sonia smiled, but otherwise her expression was unchanged. "I was wondering if you would ever find anything to tie me to the crime, but it seems you now have, and I do not mean to make a scene like Hanamura-san. So I confess. I killed Pekoyama-san. My methods were exactly as you said."

* * *

An eerie silence fell over the courtroom. Kuzuryuu's mouth fell open, and several others followed suit, including Hinata. Tanaka's shaking had quieted, but not entirely gone away, and he stared wide-eyed at Sonia, still hugging the Dark Gods to his chest. Everyone else was regaining the ability to speak little by little, and as they did the noise level built in stages.

"Sonia-san…" Souda's lip twitched, and his gaze shifted rapidly from left to right. "You don't…you don't have to defend Tanaka like that…"

"Such a calm confession…" Mioda tugged at her hair. "S-s-so scary…"

"Why…" was all that Hinata could say. "Why…_why_…?"

"Why?" Sonia folded her hands on her lap. "Well, it's a simple matter of economics, isn't it?"

"Economics…?" The determined expression Togami had held seconds earlier had melted. What remained was something like anger, but for the hollow look in his eyes. "What…what are you…"

"I would think a Super High School Level Heir would understand better than anyone," Sonia said. "The foundation of economic theory is the manipulation of factors available to you in order to create the greatest profit. That is the basis of my killing of Pekoyama-san."

"Wait, so…" Owari's voice was far more subdued than usual. "You killed her for…money?"

"You have completely misunderstood every word I said, Owari-san. it's not an uncommon mistake. Usually one's first thought of economics is of money."

Sonia tilted her head and smiled again, but Hinata couldn't look at her smile, not now. He couldn't comprehend it in the context of the Sonia he knew and this other Sonia who was speaking in her voice. But when he averted his eyes they fell on Komaeda's portrait, which stared back at him with a similar serenity. He had misremembered his appearance; his eyes were wider than he had thought, and the shape of his face much sharper.

"This doesn't make any sense," he said in Komaeda's direction. "You told me once…you said you had no intention of killing, or of being killed…"

"Ah, I did, didn't I? I'm so sorry, Hinata-san." Hinata turned back to face Sonia, whose look of concern was almost worse than her smile. "It may be hard for you to believe, but I don't believe I lied to you. I certainly had no intention of killing Pekoyama-san, not until I had a reason to."

"But what reason could you possibly have?" Nidai shouted.

"No different than the one that was figured out," Sonia said. "I did not intend to go to the central island at that time, but I had just finished the first volume of _The Vicomte of Bragelonne _and I simply had to intercept Togami-san and demand the next one! But by the time I had arrived…"

"Sonia-chan saw Fuyuhiko-chan and Peko-chan playing the game," Mioda said.

"Precisely," Sonia said. "And when I saw that the two were in concert with each other I definitely did not mean to be discovered – but at the same time fleeing was not an option! So I hid in the trees until everyone from the eating contest had returned. I left following Kuzuryuu-san and Pekoyama-san, so that they would not see me. I heard them making plans to meet just before ten, so I returned at that time and listened outside Kuzuryuu-san's cabin. Then, when Pekoyama-san spoke of leaving, I hurriedly made my way back as well, so that Pekoyama-san would not see me."

Sonia looked over at Kuzuryuu, who still stood motionless, his jaw slack. Her serene face hardened at the sight of him. "I learned so many terrible things," she said. "My first thought, when I saw them in the park, was to go immediately to Togami-san. But I realized that this would not be a solution to the problem –"

"Not a solution?" Togami's hands had found the ridges he had made in the previous trial; he dug further into them now. He was breathing slowly and heavily, with great determination, and his voice shook as he spoke. "And are you trying to tell me that murder was? Are you expecting me toaccept that?"

"Togami-san…" Sonia fixed him with a surprisingly pitiful look. "Don't misunderstand my motives. I really have nothing but the utmost respect and gratitude for your concern for us. But I don't believe you understand the workings of murder motivated by revenge."

She looked over at Pekoyama's portrait. "When someone wishes for revenge they cannot be reasoned with. Their motive cannot be removed, and they will destroy any and all restraints put on them until the object of their revenge has been eliminated. At first I believed this revenge might be directed against me, for having seen them. But when I chose to eavesdrop on their conversation, I heard of their intentions for Koizumi-san…"

"You're feeding me logic built on nonsensical assumptions," Togami interrupted, his voice rising in volume. "How could you know that Pekoyama couldn't be stopped if you denied us the opportunity to try? How could you jump to such a ridiculous conclusion?"

"The way I see it, Togami-san, unless I am somehow mistaken and you were the one that witnessed her treason, the opportunity was mine, never yours." Sonia turned away from Togami to face Koizumi, and Hinata could swear there were tears in her eyes. "And it was for that reason that I was quite troubled! I was so sure that you were doomed to die, Koizumi-san! Even if Kuzuryuu-san had decided against killing you, Pekoyama-san did seem determined in her efforts to convince him otherwise!"

Hinata looked at his neighbor to find her face frozen in horror, her eyes wide open and staring. She opened her mouth, but said nothing, so Sonia went on. "Again I considered telling Togami-san, but I came to the same conclusion as before. Pekoyama-san was a highly skilled killer, and fiercely loyal to the Kuzuryuu family. Even if any other deaths had been required to reach Koizumi-san I do not doubt Pekoyama-san could have carried them out… and it was thinking of this that I hatched my plan, the one based on economics."

"No, you didn't," Souda interrupted. "Tanaka did…Tanaka killed Pekoyama..."

"Tanaka-san killed no one, Souda-san." Sonia fixed Souda with a far more restrained look than before, then faced forward again. "If I had done nothing, Koizumi-san would, sooner or later, have a one-hundred percent chance of dying, and either Kuzuryuu-san or Pekoyama-san would have a fifty percent chance of dying, pitted against the rest of us also having a fifty percent chance of dying. But if I were to intervene, and kill Pekoyama-san, Koizumi-san would gain a fifty percent chance of dying, and no one else's chance of survival would change. In essence, by killing Pekoyama-san, I gave Koizumi-san the chance to live. And Kuzuryuu-san, too, in a sense. I did briefly consider killing him, too…but I do not believe he will go through with killing Koizumi-san without Pekoyama-san's influence."

"Shut up," Kuzuryuu muttered suddenly under his breath. "Shut up, just, shut up, shut up…"

"From there events went largely as you had figured," Sonia went on. Hinata wondered if she had heard Kuzuryuu at all. "I chose the method of murder, crept past Saionji-san's cottage back to the supermarket, and bought the items I needed. I then returned to my cottage, donned my wetsuit and a swim cap so that I would not be recognized in the dark, and did all you said."

Kuzuryuu ceased muttering, and lapsed back into shaking silence. Hinata couldn't help but notice the number of people struck the same way – Tanaka, Koizumi, even Saionji now, though she looked more surprised than horrified. Nidai, Owari, Tsumiki, and Mioda looked simply dumbfounded, but not overly affected. Souda was still babbling softly to himself, Nanami still the picture of calm, Togami still wide-eyed, still breathing heavily, still gripping the trial stand for dear life, and now looking as though he were barely restraining himself from calling out.

Hinata wasn't sure what they thought of_ his_ behavior, or if they could see the burden weighing on his mind. Had no one else seen the biggest issue of all? Or were they too caught up in the moment to bring it up? "Sonia," he said, "you're trying to tell us you killed Pekoyama to save Koizumi. But if that's really the case…wouldn't she have died if you hadn't been discovered? Why didn't you just confess when Togami asked you to?"

"Why…? Well, up until Togami-san figured the wet clothing out, I still had a chance of winning." Sonia smiled, the last thing Hinata had wanted her to do. "I said fifty percent, not zero percent, and I did also say greatest profit. If I had managed to conceal my guilt, I would have gained my freedom! That certainly would have been advantageous for me. But I did prepare myself for the prospect of defeat. Really, it would have satisfied me, one way or another."

"Wait, so you were totally okay with killing us?" Owari shouted. "Did the rest of our lives just not matter to you?"

The corner of Sonia's mouth twitched so quickly Hinata was unsure if he'd imagined it. "Again, Owari-san, you fail to understand economics." She he laid her hand on her trial stand, and it was clear to Hinata that she had moved into position to press her own button. "That is all. There is no need to delay the vote any longer, Monobear."

* * *

"Yahoo! Correct again, you bastards! The student who killed Peko Pekoyama is…Sonia Nevermind!"

Monobear laughed and leapt in his seat, grinning at the silent circle of students. Hinata couldn't speak for anyone else, but he didn't see any reason to react very strongly to Monobear's words. The moment of shock had passed, and there was no continually screaming Hanamura to deal with. Sonia's serenity, which had not broken even after Monobear had said her name, seemed to have fallen on him and many of the others.

"But the vote wasn't unanimous this time!" Monobear chirped, interrupting Hinata's thoughts. "Not one, but two votes were given to the wrong student! That's dangerous and irresponsible, you know. You're lucky the majority saved you!" He sat down again, and leaned against the armrest. "Not only that, but both votes were for the same student! Souda-kun, are you really so convinced of Tanaka-kun's guilt? And Tanaka-kun, the dramatic device of voting for yourself is one-use only! Why are you boring me to tears?"

"Wait – what do you mean?" Sonia said, surprised. "Souda-san, I appreciate the gesture of goodwill, but I don't quite understand how you came to that conclusion! And Tanaka-san, why did you do such a thing? You know you've done nothing wrong!"

"No…" Souda did not look Sonia in the eye as he spoke. A shaking smile had spread across his face. "No, Sonia-san, it's okay, it's going to be okay…it's just a joke, it's just a mix-up, you'll see, he'll say it in a second, he'll say Tanaka did it…"

Souda looked up at Tanaka, but Tanaka did not pay him any mind. Instead he fixed Sonia with a hollow look, then turned his head to the side, away from her. The Four Dark Gods of Destruction disappeared inside his scarf, and he hugged his arms closer to his chest.

"Oooooohhh! This is almost better than the murder!" Monobear spun in his seat. "All this despair, from all corners of the room… what do you think, little sister? Should I execute her now, before anyone can start talking my ears off? Or let her live for a while so the despair can grow?"

"Y-you could start by not executing her at all!" Monomi's gaze darted back and forth between Monobear and Sonia, who, despite it all, was still looking at Tanaka with worry.

"But do you really want a murderer loose on this island? That's a rhetorical question, by the way. It's not happening." Monobear laughed. "Maybe there's something else you want instead? Like a punchline? Or a blackjack to the head?"

"W-what are they even talking about?" Tsumiki whimpered.

"Nothing. Foolishness. This is a complete waste of my time." Togami straightened himself, his eyes flashing. "_Sonia_!"

Sonia started, then directed her gaze forward. "Togami-san?" she said.

"You – this – how?" Togami paused, put a hand to his temple, and took a deep breath before continuing. "How can you be so calm?" he said, hardly sounding calm himself. "How can you_ insult _us like this?"

"Insult...?" Sonia's hands began to fidget. "Togami-san, I've really been quite confused by your reaction thus far. After all, wasn't Hanamura-san also willing to risk all of our deaths to achieve his goal? And you were about to sacrifice your life for Hanamura-san's, weren't you? Is this so different?"

"Komaeda manipulated Hanamura into killing him!" Togami shouted, his face contorted with fury. "Did you think I wanted Hanamura to do that? Did you think I ever wanted that to happen again? You weren't manipulated. You killed Pekoyama by your own volition for fully selfish reasons. How _dare_ you compare yourself to him!"

Togami grimaced, and his whole body heaved. Hinata opened his mouth to say something, but Togami began again before he could. "I trusted you. I thought you, of all people, could be reasonable. I can't even comprehend you trying to justify your actions like this. You can't. You _won't. _You've done nothing but play into Monobear's hands!"

Several people looked surprised at Togami's outburst, but none looked inclined to disagree. Sonia's smile faltered, and she did not speak for a time, but when she did her voice sounded hollow. "Perhaps… I can't justify myself the way I wanted to. But you've already caught me, haven't you? And the vote's been cast. So what matters now is what I have accomplished."

Sonia looked over in Hinata's direction, and Hinata started before he realized she was looking at Koizumi. "You know, Koizumi-san, no matter what may have happened in the past, I do believe you're a very strong and responsible person. If you will…please remember the sacrifices I've made for you, and use your life to its fullest potential. I have very strong faith in the great things you can do."

Sonia attempted to smile, but did not do so as strongly as she had before. Hinata wondered whether this was a reaction to how Koizumi was looking at her; her face was blue with shock, and she tore at her hair with both hands. "Stop…" she said. "Stop using my name. I didn't ask for this. I never wanted this to happen…!"

"Upupupu! You might say that, but would you really rather be dead?" Monobear said.

"Uwaa! That's unnecessarily cwuel!" Monomi said. "Everything is, of course, but this especially is just…just…"

Monomi did not finish her sentence – she whimpered into her hands instead. Koizumi looked at the ground, and said nothing. Sonia looked from left to right, her smile slowly fading. "It's…it's no use talking about this," she siad. "What's done is done…"

"Yeah, and you know what you did? You made Big Sis Koizumi cry!" Saionji slammed her fists on the trial stand. "You're just as rotten as you look, you dirty foreigner!"

"Saionji-san…" Sonia looked around the room, from face to face, but Hinata found no sympathy on any one. Nidai was looking at the ground, Souda was still shaking and making eye contact with no one, Mioda looked apologetic but unsympathetic, and Hinata hoped his scorn and betrayal showed clearly enough. Eventually, to his surprise, she came to rest on Kuzuryuu, who had, Hinata now realized, been looking over at her the entire time.

"You've been quiet," Sonia said. "You were so angry at Koizumi-san. Do you not have the energy to be angry at me?"

Kuzuryuu blinked, then looked over at Pekoyama's portrait. It hardly showed any of her face, and almost none of her hair. "You knew." His voice sounded oddly dry and hoarse. "You knew I'd suspect her."

"It was a consideration."

Kuzuryuu sniffed loudly, and it was only then that Hinata noticed the redness around his eyes and the tearstains on his cheeks. "She'd kill you. She'd kill you in a heartbeat…I'd kill you myself…I don't care…"

His bandaged hands shook; without warning, he banged them both on the trial stand, howling in unrestrained pain as he did so, then banged them again, and then again. Sonia's smile had, by this time, entirely disappeared. "I'm sorry to disappoint," she said.

"Woooow, really?" Monobear shouted. "This is more boring than I thought it would be! I thought I could milk a good amount of despair from you bastards, but I'm getting tired and I kind of want to get this over with."

"But we can't," Monomi said. "Not again, not like this…"

"Actually, Monomi, I think I understand how Monobear feels." Sonia walked several steps away from her trial stand, towards Monobear and Monomi, then turned back, giving a small bow. "Goodbye, everyone. There's no need for me to stay any longer. I…wish you the best of luck in your efforts to escape."

"Hey, wait!" Hinata yelled, but to what end not even he would ever know. His words were drowned out by Monobear's gleeful announcement of Sonia's punishment, and Sonia turned her back again, standing still in the face of the large metal chain rising from the doorway to meet her.

* * *

As the curtain rises, observe our culprit. See the ropes binding her to the stick – they are merely an aid in playing her part, for she has been negligent and has not read our script. Our other players are preparing, not tied to the sticks but piloting them as a means to tell our tale, but witness her in the meantime, for your entertainment. How serene her face. How blank her eyes. How ambiguous the curve of her lips.

But that is enough. Now they are ready to begin, and our play shall be entitled:

_Love Like Salt_

Witness the Queen – no, not the culprit, not at the moment, but the Queen, bedecked in her finest robes and jewels, a wise and clever ruler whose judgment is never doubted. A banquet has been laid, and her three daughters have come before her with answers to a question she has previously posed – "What is it that you love your mother more than?"

Her eldest daughters are wise – one loves her more than gold and diamonds, the next more than these original copies of the entire Nirvana discography – what a treasure, what a compliment! But the youngest, the Princess Monobear – how dare she bring her mother something so worthless as salt? We move her finger forward, we banish the princess –

Oh, but would that it were so easy. Of course the Princess Monobear had been expecting such a response, and what better chance to prove the worth of salt than this? This play is set in the Middle Ages, you see – and now don't you smell the rotting meat lain before you, and perceive the value of her gift as a preservative?

But that simply won't be enough to teach her mother the proper lesson. So the Princess Monobear had an alternative prepared, and lo it has arrived with a splintering of wood. Big, Bad Wolf meat, fresh from the wrong fairytale, so fresh it's still alive.

_Ulp_! goes the sister with her gold and diamonds, less worthy than her mother but more worthy than their bearer, and _Ulp_! goes the second princess and her discography – All Apologies, my sister, but you were just Something In The Way. And now the Wolf rounds on the Queen, his teeth thick with slaver, and he runs but the chain around his neck holds him back, though only for a moment as the bolt in the opposite wall grows ever weaker.

How serene her face. How blank her eyes. How ambiguous the curve of her lips. We have not bound her head, and yet she does not shrink from death, she gives it who knows what regard, but the chain does not break as fast as she'd expected –

But her concentration _is _broken, along with our fourth wall. Her gaze slides away, the audience fills her eyes, and now that she has seen them there is no going back, she looks, she searches desperately, but where is it? Wasn't it supposed to be there, if it was there for Hanamura-san? It could very well be the last thing she sees, someone must have it, the vision most valuable for her right now, the assurance, the justification she craves in order to be able to look back, why oh why did she ever look away –

Togami-san. Togami-san, what are you thinking? Why are you looking at me that way? Hinata-san, too? And Souda-san, and Tanaka-san, and Koizumi-san, even… One after another after another, they allow her none of what she needs…

She cannot look back, and the moment has passed. The chain breaks, the wolf pounces, and Sonia Nevermind dies screaming.

* * *

Hinata didn't remember very much of what happened after that. Maybe it was the exhaustion – he hadn't slept for more than twenty-four hours, after all – or maybe it was – no, he couldn't pinpoint one thing that might have affected him over another. It was all too much to sort out, not before he could sleep, or find the strength to berate himself for wanting sleep so badly.

He remembered rage and pain, his and everyone else's. He remembered Monobear saying something and Monomi saying something. He remembered Tsumiki's tears, Kuzuryuu's laughter that hardly felt like laughter at all, Koizumi and Tanaka's lack of words, his own hollow sense of betrayal, his wonder at whether inside everyone in the room there were yet more potential betrayers he would soon encounter.

He remembered Togami, still looking at the place where Sonia had died. He remembered him turning and heading for the elevator before anyone else. He remembered loud stomps, much louder than usual. Mioda had followed after him, had tried to reach his shoulder, but he had walked too far ahead of her for her to catch up. Then they disappeared into the elevator, and by the time Hinata entered some moments later they were standing next to each other, but neither touching nor speaking.

It was six-thirty in the morning when the elevator doors opened to bright sunshine. He had been aware of Souda slumped against the door on the way up, but it wasn't until they'd reached the surface again and he fell to the ground that anyone knew he had fainted. Nidai knelt to catch him, and Owari ran to get some water. She was the first to go; Kuzuryuu followed not long after, stomping with Tsumiki and his bandages trailing behind him. Gundam followed him, pulling his scarf up over his face and not speaking with anyone.

Hinata walked off with Nanami, just behind Togami and Mioda. Koizumi and Saionji did not follow for quite some time, and when they did Hinata looked back to see Saionji leading Koizumi by the hand. Mioda took occasional looks at Togami, but said nothing. Hinata asked Nanami if she was okay. Mioda followed suit. Nanami said she was fine. Togami bid them goodbye, headed to his cabin, and shut the door.

Hinata entered his own cabin, pulled off his shirt and pants, and fell into his bed, but after ten minutes he got back up, put his clothes back on, and left again. He wandered the hotel grounds for a time, looking to see if anyone had stayed outside, but he found no one. Briefly, as he stood by the pool, he considered knocking on Togami's door, checking to see if he was alright, but he felt he already knew the answer to that question. In any case, he thought, that was a stupid idea. If he got some sleep he wouldn't have it anymore.

He returned, pulled his clothes off again, and climbed into bed. No sooner had he shut his eyes than the screen next to his bed lit up, playing Monobear's morning announcement. He pulled his pillow over his ears until it ended, then slammed himself back down, screwing his eyes shut. He did eventually sleep, but with far more difficulty than before.

* * *

_komaeda theater_

_"Do you see it, Sonia-san? Do you see the wild, maddening hope flowing from your every deed? And you, Pekoyama-san! With every move you've used your talent to the fullest! I don't know how I could be more proud! Your goals, your mission, the changes you've wrought…I'm sure now this will unite them more than ever. It's changed them, that's for sure! It's shown them an entirely new definition of hope! I just hope, if I can use that word, that they can comprehend it, like you did. I hope you've taken them that far. I hope, even, that you've been an inspiration to them for the future._

_"I welcome you even though no one is coming, even though the only memory of your existence lies in the minds of those that witnessed your deeds. But in that memory there is hope, and that hope comes to me wherever it lies. I may not be Super High School Level Hope. But I don't have to have a talent to covet it with every fiber of my being."_

* * *

_13 DAYS LEFT_

* * *

And that's a wrap for Chapter 2. Up next, Titty Typhoon! And also everything else that happens in Chapter 3.

- Carth


End file.
